President Lula is to head a delegation of 700 officials at the global climate talks starting in Denmark next Monday, authorities said.
The group includes 80 federal government officials, 100 regional officials, 40 lawmakers, as well as an unspecified number of scientists and environmental workers, the foreign ministry told O Globo newspaper on Friday.
Brazil’s main negotiator will be diplomat Luiz Alberto Figueiredo.
The whole delegation will be co-directed by Dilma Roussef, Lula’s right-hand woman who is his chief government minister — and his chosen successor in presidential elections next October.
Environment Minister Carlos Minc will be sharing his field of expertise with his predecessor, Marina Silva, whose trip was paid for by a non-governmental organisation.
Silva, the daughter of poor rubber tappers who lobbied hard to preserve the Amazon when she was environment minister up to last year, is a rival Green Party presidential candidate.
Brazil is bringing to Copenhagen a pledge of voluntary carbon emission cuts of 36 to 39 percent based on projected 2020 output.
It insists that for global warming to be effectively tackled, rich countries must pay it and other developing nations to conserve their forests.
Leave a Reply