Photo: Prensa Latina.

Brasilia, Aug 13 (RHC) The various environmental commitments emanating from the IV Amazon Summit, which for two days was held in Belém, capital of the northern state of Pará, stood out in Brazil in the week ending Saturday.

The countries participating in the meeting released a joint communiqué with final considerations in which they also called for advantages for sustainable forest products in the markets of developed nations.

"We reinforce our understanding that preferential access for forest products in the markets of developed countries will be an important lever for the economic development of developing countries," the text states.

It reiterates commitments aimed at preserving forests, reducing the causes of deforestation and forest degradation, as well as conserving and valuing biodiversity.

The signatories also expressed their concern over the failure of developed countries to fulfill their commitments regarding the 100 billion dollars a year pledged for climate finance in developing countries.

In this regard, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, host of the forum, defended the viability of international financing for sustainable projects in the biome.

"We cannot accept a green neocolonialism that, under the pretext of protecting the environment, imposes trade barriers and discriminatory measures and does not consider our regulatory frameworks and domestic policies," said Lula at the end of the meeting.

According to the head of state, "what we need to make a leap in quality is long-term financing without conditions for green infrastructure and industrialization projects". He said that during the Brazilian presidency of the G20 (a group formed by the finance ministers and heads of central banks of the 19 largest economies in the world plus the European Union), which will begin on December 1, "we will place sustainable development and the reduction of inequalities at the center of the international agenda". He warned that there are only seven years to achieve the 2030 Agenda Goals and it is "time for our countries to unite. It is time to wake up to the urgency of the climate change problem".

He remarked that the joint declaration adopted will be "the first step towards a common position already at COP28 this year (in the United Arab Emirates), with a view to COP30".The summit in Belém involved, in addition to the countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela), other countries with large extensions of preserved rainforests, such as Indonesia, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Source: Prensa Latina).