Statement by President Lula at expanded session of G7 Summit in Canada

I would like to thank [Canada's] Prime Minister Mark Carney for the invitation to participate in this expanded session.

Five of the seven current G7 leaders have taken office since the Apulia Summit.

While this renovation demonstrates the force of democracy, it also imposes challenges when quick and coordinated responses are required.

Climate change does not wait, and it cannot be combated without a collective effort.

The G7 was born as a reaction to the oil crises.

The shocks of the seventies showed that fossil fuel dependency condemns the planet to an uncertain future.

The world, however, resists the need to accept that diversification is the key to energy security.

Brazil was the first country to invest in large-scale renewable alternatives.

90% of our electricity matrix comes from clean sources.

We are currently the world's second-largest producer of biofuels.

We pioneered the development of flex-fuel engines.

Our gasoline contains 30% ethanol in its blend and our diesel oil contains 15% biodiesel. 

Hybrid vehicles, which combine combustion and electricity, are already a reality in our automotive industry.

We are at the forefront of green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel production.

The expansion of wind and solar energy facilities and the decarbonization of the transport sector and agriculture depend on strategic minerals.

It is impossible to discuss the energy transition without talking about them, or without including Brazil.

Brazil holds the world's largest niobium reserves, the second-largest reserves of nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements, and the third largest reserve of manganese and bauxite.

However, we will not make the same mistakes we made in the past.

For centuries, mineral exploration generated wealth for the few, leaving a wake of destruction and misery for the many.

[This exploration] must not endanger biomes such as the Amazon rainforest and the seabeds.

This was the message we took to the Oceans Summit in Nice last week.

Brazil will not become the stage for predatory competition and exclusionary practices.

Developing countries must participate in all stages of the global chains of strategic minerals, including their refining.

This was our stance at the G20 and has been our tonic at BRICS.

Partnerships must be based on mutual benefits, not on geopolitical disputes.

If rivalry prevails over cooperation, there will be no energy security.

Nor will there be energy security in a world in conflict.

Year after year, wars and conflicts accumulate.

Military spending annually consumes the equivalent to Italy's GDP.

This corresponds to 2.7 trillion dollars that could be invested in hunger eradication and the just transition.

Everyone in this room knows that, in the conflict in Ukraine, neither side will reach their goals by military means.

Only dialogue between the parties can lead to a ceasefire and pave the way for lasting peace.

In Gaza, nothing justifies the indiscriminate killing of thousands of women and children and the use of hunger as a weapon of war.

There are still countries that resist recognizing the Palestinian State, making evident their selectivity in defending law and justice.

Israel’s recent attacks on Iran threaten to turn the whole Middle East into a single battlefield, with far-reaching global consequences.

In Haiti, the international community remains indifferent to the daily chaos and the atrocities committed by organized crime.

I do not underestimate the magnitude of the task of tackling all these threats.

But the evident leadership vacuum clearly worsens this scenario.

Three permanent members of the UN Security Council are seated around this table, along with other nations with a long-standing tradition of upholding peace.

This is the time to restore the leadership role of the United Nations.

The Secretary-General must lead a representative group of countries committed to peace to fulfill the task of reinstating the UN’s prerogative as the forum for understanding and dialogue.

Thank you.