Lula is expected to announce COP president this Tuesday

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Already late in defining the structure of COP 30, which will take place in Belém in November this year, the Brazilian government is expected to announce this Tuesday Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago as the president of the conference, sources who told Reuters follow conversations at the Presidency of the Republic.

The definition of the COP president will help the Brazilian government put in place the assembly of the leadership structure that must carry out the negotiations for what promises to be one of the most difficult conferences in recent years, with tough disputes over financing and the new National Contribution Determined (NDCs).

Secretary of Climate, Energy and Environment at Itamaraty, Corrêa do Lago has been Brazil’s negotiator at the COP since 2023, and had already played the same role between 2011 and 2013, in addition to working with sustainable development since 2001. Name of consensus in the government Due to negotiating capacity, the ambassador was not officially announced but has been given the sole name since the end of 2024 to assume the position.

The position, which serves as a facilitator and mediator of the different positions taken by countries at the conference, is considered essential for the success of the COP. In the last two years, in Dubai and Azerbaijan, the presidencies of both countries have come under heavy criticism.

Sources interviewed by Reuters in the government claim that Corrêa do Lago is the best name today, as he not only knows all the climate negotiations but also has contact with all sectors involved within the government itself. He was responsible, for example, for resolving the impasse between developed countries and the global south in the G20 climate negotiations, which threatened to paralyze the summit communiqué.

Structure

In addition to the presidency, the government works with a structure that must include a champion, a leadership responsible for working with governments, companies, investors and other interested parties to mobilize efforts around the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

According to a source interviewed by Reuters, the intention for the position is a businessman who already has a prominent role in the area of ​​sustainable development, but there is no name yet.

A behind-the-scenes dispute emerged at the end of 2024, with two names — Patrícia Ellen, former secretary of Economic Development, Science and Technology of São Paulo under the João Doria government, in São Paulo, and Marcello Brito, executive secretary of the Consortium of Governors of the Amazon and ally of the governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho — raising petitions around their names.

There were also special advisors to the Presidency, Frederico de Assis, and scientist Thelma Kruger, vice-president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). None of them, however, should be nominated for the champion position.

The COP presidency works with the idea of ​​establishing a council of leaders and experts who, in practice, must act as the president’s envoys for certain issues. One of these names must be Assis, who will be in charge of dealing with climate denial issues.

Kruger and Brito are also considered to be part of the team of envoys, but there is still no definition of how many names will be called.