Lula urges global climate action, warns against denialism and unilateralism

NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for urgent global action to combat climate change, urging nations to defend the Paris Agreement against denialism and unilateralism.

Speaking at the UN Climate Summit in New York, Lula stressed that each country must submit and implement its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the mechanism established in the Paris accords requiring states to report concrete steps to cut emissions. “Nationally Determined Contributions are the roadmap that will guide each country through this change,” he said.

His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as a “hoax” during his General Assembly speech, echoing his earlier decision to withdraw the US from the Paris accord in his first term.

“The denialism we face is not only related to climate; it is multilateral,” Lula warned. “No one is safe from the effects of climate change. Walls at borders will not stop droughts or storms. Nature does not bow down to bombs or warships. No country stands above another. The risk of unilateralism is the chain reaction it provokes.”

Lula highlighted Brazil’s commitment to ending deforestation in the Amazon by 2030, reminding delegates that Brazil was the second nation to submit an updated NDC.

He cautioned that inaction could undermine trust in political leadership. “If we do not make a decision, society is going to stop believing its leaders. Instead of strengthening the struggle against global warming, we will discredit multilateralism and democracy, and all of us will lose because denialism may actually win,” he said.