Lula defends oil exploration near the Amazon months before COP30
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended, this Thursday (19), that Brazil seek new oil reserves near the Amazon, and stated that the world “is not prepared” to live without fossil fuels, months before the country hosts the COP30 climate conference.
The state-owned oil company Petrobras is awaiting a license from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) to begin a mega exploration project on the so-called Equatorial Margin, in waters close to the largest tropical forest in the world.
“I am in favor of us working on the idea of one day not having fossil fuels (…), but I am very realistic: the world is not prepared to live without oil,” said Lula in an interview released this Thursday on rapper Mano Brown's podcast on Spotify.
“Why can’t we explore our wealth so that we can make another wealth happen, which is the energy transition?” added the leftist leader, who wants Brazil to lead the global fight against climate change.
Environmental groups denounce these plans, saying they could threaten the Amazon's crucial role in combating global warming.
Lula emphasized that the exploration would take place “545 km from the (Equatorial) Margin, in international waters”, where countries such as Guyana and Suriname are already drilling.
I also argue that oil “can stop being such a diabolical fuel” and cited as an example the fact that Brazil already incorporates 30% ethanol into its gasoline and 15% biodiesel into its diesel oil.
Located in the north of the country, the Equatorial Margin has potential crude oil reserves estimated at at least 10 billion barrels.
In a separate operation from Petrobras' megaproject, the country on Tuesday granted 19 of the 47 oil exploration areas in the same area of the Atlantic Ocean to consortiums led by Petrobras-ExxonMobil and Chevron-CNPC for R$844 million.
This concession also faces opposition from environmental groups and the Public Ministry, who have called for the auctions to be suspended.
Brazil will host the UN COP30 climate conference in November in the city of Belém.
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