President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, one of the guests at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, declared that the challenges that require urgent action are global warming, hunger, social exclusion, terrorism and drug traffic.
Brazil was invited to the summit, along with China, India, Mexico and South Africa.
“To combat global warming, we need to review production and consumption patterns. We need to speed up the transfer, at affordable prices, of technology to developing nations where the poor and the ecosystems are more vulnerable to greenhouse gases and their consequences.” said the President.
Lula cited a number of initiatives in Brazil in the environment area. There is a pioneer program that provides incentives for family farmers to grow certain vegetables that can be used to produce vegetable oils that are additives for fuels, such as castor seed oil which is added to diesel to produce biodiesel.
There is also the fact that Brazil is a world leader in the use of sugarcane-based ethanol, not only as a gasoline additive, but as a fuel. And finally, there has been a crackdown on deforestation and burning in the Amazon region by the Lula administration.
One of the principal objectives of this G8 meeting was to find ways to improve the situation in African nations. Lula pointed out that since he took office he has been to Africa no less than four times.
“Brazil’s commitment to Africa is more than just a political position. It is something we have written in our souls,” he declared.
Lula closed his remarks by calling on the international community to remember the problem in Haiti where a huge reconstruction project is needed.
He pointed out that the UN peace mission presently in Haiti is commanded by Brazil, and most of the troops there are Brazilian.
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