Above Photo: President Maduro speaks to the press upon his arrival in Egypt to attend the UN climate summit COP27. Twitter / @NicolasMaduro.
On Saturday, November 5, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the proposal for a South American summit in defense of the Amazon rainforest.
Upon his arrival in Egypt to participate in the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), President Maduro said that he discussed the issue with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, and the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“We have proposed to Petro and Lula to soon hold a South American summit in defense of the Amazon and to reactivate the Defense Treaty Organization to make concrete proposals so that humanity and governments commit to finance the recovery of that region,” he explained.
He expressed the urgent need to resume the defense and recovery of the Amazon and to firmly and decisively stop all processes that contribute to the destruction of the forest, which is called the “lungs of the world.”
The COP27 begins on Sunday and will continue until Tuesday, November 8, and upon being asked by the press what could differentiate that event from other summits, President Maduro pointed out the destructive nature of climate change.
He also referred to the near-irreversibility of the processes of global warming, the melting of the polar ice caps, and the warming and pollution of seas and rivers.
“The world is facing severe blows from nature as a result of climate change, as are we in Venezuela and humanity in general,” he said.
He pointed out that this year, the rainy season has severely hit the Caribbean region, especially Venezuela and Colombia.
“Every day we have floods, landslides, and mudslides, because there is an accumulation of heat in the Caribbean Sea, which generates torrential rainfall, especially in the northern coastal area of the nation,” said the president. “These are the direct effects of climate change.”
Various sources have reported that more than 30,000 guests will attend this year’s UN climate conference in person or by video, and 90 heads of state or government as well as representatives of more than 190 countries have confirmed their attendance.
Among the topics to be discussed at COP27 will be the urgent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the strengthening of resilience, and adaptation to the consequences of climate change.
The agenda also includes discussions on fulfilling the financing of climate action commitments in developing countries; these commitments had been made by developed countries in earlier summits and international bodies.