Lula Asks Minister to Deliver COP31 Speech, Citing Hoarse Voice

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco to read his second speech at the COP31 Leaders Summit on Forests in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday, November 11, due to his hoarse voice. Lula requested Capobianco represent him "as effusively as possible," saying, "Speak in a tone of someone doing a lot for environmental preservation." The speech cited poverty, lack of resources, and weak international leadership as obstacles to protecting tropical forests. The address defended expanding investments in the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), which has mobilized $7.8 billion with support from 66 countries and the EU. It also announced Brazil's plan to halt and reverse deforestation, including transforming the Amazon's "arc of destruction" into an "arc of restoration."