Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva gives a statement to the media at the end of the Amazon Summit, at the Hangar Convention Center in Belem, Brazil, Aug 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
BRASILIA – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized Wednesday what he called "green neocolonialism" and demanded funding commitments from developed countries for sustainable projects.
Indigenous people hold signs that read in Portuguese "Illegal mining, poison," "Demarcation is the future" and "Our future is not for sale" during a march in defense of the Amazon summit in Belem, Brazil, Aug 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
"We cannot accept a green neocolonialism that under the pretext of protecting the environment, imposes trade barriers and discriminatory measures and ignores our regulatory frameworks and domestic policies," Lula said at the closing of Amazon Summit, officially known as the 4th Meeting of Presidents of States Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, in Belem in northern Brazil.
Countries with tropical forests inherited from the colonial past a "predatory" economic model featuring "irrational exploitation" of natural resources, slavery and systematic exclusion of local populations, the Brazilian president said
Countries with tropical forests inherited from the colonial past a "predatory" economic model featuring "irrational exploitation" of natural resources, slavery and systematic exclusion of local populations, Lula said.
ALSO READ: G20 bloc fails to reach agreement on cutting fossil fuels
However, for high-quality development, he believed what these countries need is long-term, unconditional financing for green infrastructure and industrialization projects.
ALSO READ: Amazon rainforest nations forge shared policy in Brazil
He blamed developed countries for limited participation in global financing mechanisms in this regard.
The two-day summit was attended by representatives from Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana, and Venezuela, among others, to address issues of great interest to the Amazon region.
