COP26: President Bolsonaro no-show is no embarrassment, says Brazil’s lead negotiator
The absence of President Jair Bolsonaro at the critical UN summit in Glasgow is not a problem, Brazil’s top climate diplomat has told Sky News.
Asked if it was embarrassing that the President had not attended COP26, Paulino de Carvalho Neto said: “Not really. He had other things to do. We have a huge delegation here.”
“We’ve joined important initiatives,” he said in his first UK press interview since the talks began, citing promises to cut methane and end deforestation.
Brazil also boosted its 2030 emissions target, hinting at a change of tone under President Bolsonaro, who once threatened to withdraw Brazil from the Paris Agreement.
During his administration, destruction of forests has soared.
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Destruction surging in the Amazon
“We recognize that we have a problem in terms of deforestation and we are acting in order to solve this,” said Mr Carvalho Neto, adding it dropped in August and September compared with last year.
Bolsonaro has shifted his position following pressure from civil society and internationally, realising the climate cannot be made a “populist ideological issue”, according to Ana Toni, director of Brazil’s Institute of Climate and Society.
However the G20 nation was “notably absent” from last week’s $1.7billion pledge to support indigenous and local communities (IPLC) in recognition of their crucial guardianship of land, said Clare McConnell, from think tank E3G.
Brazil’s support would have “lent credibility” to its deforestation promise, she said, adding Bolsonaro had “emboldened land invasions through his repeated criticisms of indigenous reservations for occupying valuable land”.
The Kokama people recently told Sky News they had been displaced from the Amazon by logging and mining.
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Native people fighting for their culture in Amazon
Mr Carvalho Neto dismissed general claims of violence and displacement as “pure advocacy” and “much more complicated” than they appear. But he conceded “obviously, there are problems” which “we are trying hard to address”.
The diplomat was “pretty optimistic” about a good outcome from COP26 but said it would be “up to the [UK] presidency of the conference” as well as “all parties to be as constructive as possible”.
He also argued developed countries – like the US and nowadays China – have a “much greater role to play regarding climate change than Brazil” due to having greater cumulative emissions.
“Brazil is not really responsible,” Mr Carvalho Neto said. The South American nation accounts for just 0.9% of global historical carbon dioxide emissions to 2017, according to Our World in Data, though that could be much higher if deforestation emissions were included, Carbon Brief analysis found.
The diplomat said his country was “giving ground” and “trying to be as flexible as possible” on what has been a major sticking point in previous negotiations: – the part of the Paris Agreement that governs the buying and selling of emissions cuts, known as “Article 6”.
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The cow conspiracy worth millions
Proponents of such a carbon market say it can help the world reach net zero by balancing out pollution, helping rich countries who buy credits to meet emissions targets, and funding ways to slash emissions in developing countries.
The last two COPs have tried and failed to agree the rules on how this should work and Brazil was accused of disrupting talks – claims he calls “not quite precise”.
Brazil, among others, had wanted to roll over poor credits from an old scheme into a new one, and it had been accused of pushing for double-counting, which means counting carbon credit both where it was generated and where it was bought.
The lead negotiator denied Brazil had ever wanted double-counting. But Gilles Dufrasne from Carbon Market Watch said the country had “effectively been promoting double counting for five years”.
“Until Brazil clearly speaks out against the carryover of old credits… and in support of comprehensive accounting rules for all carbon credits, they will continue to be blockers in Article 6,” said Mr Dufrasne.
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Hackers working for the Chinese military and government have been probing Australia’s key infrastructure and telecoms network, warns spy chief.
Mike Burgess, director-general of security for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, warned Australians could have their water and electricity supplies cut off as well as extensive banking trouble if hackers managed to cause widespread telecoms disruption.
“Foreign governments have elite teams investigating these possibilities right now,” Mr Burgess insisted.
However, China‘s foreign ministry accused Burgess’s statement of spreading false narratives.
Pic: Reuters
The warning demonstrates the difficulty faced by Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese in trying to keep China close economically while trying to mitigate security concerns.
Burgess said espionage was estimated to have cost the country A$12.5bn (£6.2bn) last year, including billions in trade secrets and intellectual property.
In particular, he highlighted the activities of the Chinese hacking groups Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon.
He highlighted how Salt Typhoon had previously penetrated US telecoms systems intending to disrupt operations and pre-position for potential sabotage.
Burgess also warned that Australian companies could be crippled as trade competitors or that elections could be affected.
Chinese officials made complaints to the Australian government and private sector about ASIO whenever he spoke
publicly about China, Burgess said during a speech last week. “It won’t stop my resolve,” he said.
Not the first time alarms have been raised
Concerns were raised in Canberra in February after Chinese warships conducted live-fire drills with minimal warning in the Tasman Sea.
Australian authorities only heard about the drills when a commercial pilot for Virgin Australia notified Airservices Australia.
Chinese frigate Hengyang, one of three vessels involved in the circumnavigation of Australia. Pic: Australian Defense Force /AP
The drills resulted in 49 flights having to change their path.
It was a sombre occasion when the Princess Royal paid tribute to those who gave their lives defending freedom thousands of miles from home.
Under grey skies, Anne joined British and Singaporean veterans in a minute’s silence at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore.
She then took a poppy wreath in her hands and laid it at the memorial before taking two steps back.
Princess Anne lays a wreath during Service of Remembrance at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Pic: PA
Nearly 4,500 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War, who died defending Singapore and Malaya from Japan, are laid to rest in the cemetery.
Among them is Midshipman James Bremridge, a relative of Anne’s husband Sir Timothy Laurence.
Mr Bremridge, who died aged 18, served aboard HMS Repulse, which was sunk by Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea in December 1941.
Sir Timothy laid a wreath on his grave.
Sir Timothy Laurence, husband of Princess Anne, lays a wreath on the grave of a relative at Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Pic: PA
During the visit, Anne met staff from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which she heads, and was greeted by its vice chair Peter Hudson.
Commander Tim Curnock of the British Royal Navy read an extract from For the Fallen, before the assembled veterans said “we will remember them” in unison.
Read more:
King leads nation in remembrance
Prince Harry on what it means to be British
Along with the princess, the presidents of the Singapore Armed Veterans’ League and veterans’ charity Sandbag were also invited to lay wreaths at the memorial.
The piper, who played to mark the occasion, stood at the top of the cemetery overlooking the rows of headstones and saluted after Anne spoke to him.
Princess Anne visits Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Pic: PA
The two-day visit to Singapore marks 60 years of diplomatic relations with the UK.
The Princess Royal also visited the National Orchid Garden, where a flower was named after her in a short ceremony.
The purple bloom, now called Dendrobium Anne, was “very special” she said.
The Princess Royal with the ‘Dendrobium Anne’ orchid during a visit to the National Orchid Garden in Singapore. Pic: PA
The princess was also shown around the VIP garden, where orchid hybrids named after various heads of state are kept.
She paused to admire one called Dendrobium Elizabeth after her late mother.
Six members of the royal family have had orchids named after them in the garden, including the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2012.
Anne also visited HMS Spey, which has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific region since 2021.
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