At the UN, Lula says the severity of the climate crisis “knocks on the door” and regrets rains in Rio Grande do Sul

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated, this Tuesday (19), that he treated climate change and inequality as the main challenges to be overcome by international authorities.

In a speech at the UN General Assembly, Lula highlighted that the climate crisis “knocks on our doors”, citing, for example, the rains in Rio Grande do Sul, which left almost 50 people dead.

See: the full text of Lula’s speech at the UN Assembly

Without reducing inequality, the 2030 Agenda could be the UN’s biggest failure, says Lula | LIVE CNN

When opening the debate between heads of state and government at the 78th Assembly, in New York, he recalled the first time he participated in the event, in 2003.

“I return today to say that I maintain my unshakable trust in humanity. At that time, the world had not yet realized the severity of the climate crisis. Today, it knocks on our doors, destroys our homes, our cities, our countries, kills and imposes loss and suffering on our brothers, especially the poorest”, said Lula.

Also at the beginning of his speech, Lula expressed condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Morocco and the storms that hit Libya and the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil.

“I wish to express my condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Morocco and the storms that hit Libya. Like what happened recently in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in my country, these tragedies claim lives and cause irreparable losses. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families”, declared Lula.

According to the president, to overcome inequalities, it is necessary to overcome resignation and the lack of political will of those who govern the world.

“Hunger, the central theme of my speech in this world Parliament 20 years ago, today affects 735 million human beings who go to sleep tonight without knowing if they will have anything to eat tomorrow. The world is increasingly unequal. The top ten billionaires have more wealth than the poorest 40% of humanity,” she added.

This year, the theme of the general debate is “Rebuilding trust and rekindling global solidarity: accelerating action towards the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all”.

In the general debate, the heads of UN member states are invited to speak on an opportunity to highlight their views and concerns regarding the multilateral system.

It is up to the Brazilian government to deliver the first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, followed by the president of the United States. This tradition dates back to the beginnings of the organization, in the late 1940s.

This is the eighth time that President Lula has opened the heads of state debate. Over the course of his two previous terms, he participated in the event every year between 2003 and 2009.

In 2010, he was represented by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and current special advisor to the Presidency, Celso Amorim.

The president arrived in New York last Saturday night (16), where he participated in meetings with businesspeople and foreign authorities.

Tomorrow (20), he will meet with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Lula will also be received by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, with whom he will launch a global initiative to promote work.