Brazilian president will take fossil-fuel plan to G20

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has told Cop30 delegates that he will take his fossil fuel transition roadmap to the G20 in Johannesburg this week, despite reports that petrostates have said they will not accept the plan.

- Jonathan Watts Fiona Harvey Belém

Before leaving Cop30 in Belém, the figurehead of the global south told civil society representatives he was ready to fight for the proposal to phase out oil, coal and gas in whatever forum was necessary.

"Lula told me that he was all in on the roadmap and that he would campaign for it everywhere, in the G7 and G20," said Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory group. "It's his proposal. He's worried about those who are threatened by extreme climate events. That's what moves him. He understands the climate crisis is a machine that worsens poverty and inequality."

Climate conferences are always like games of chess as the world's governments juggle priorities and haggle over commitments. But the prospect of Lula opening a new front for his campaign in Johannesburg adds an intriguing transcontinental twist.