BRASILIA, May 27, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - The city of Belem on the edge of the
Brazilian Amazon has been chosen to host the COP30 round of global climate
talks in 2025, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced Friday.

"I am convinced that it will be a great event... the world will love the
people of the state of Para" of which Belem is the capital, the president
said in a video posted on social media.

"I already participated in this conference (Conference of the Parties or COP)
in Egypt, in France, and everyone was talking about the Amazon. So I said:
'Why not hold the conference there, so you know where the Amazon is?'" Lula
said about his offer to host the annual talks.

Brazil had been chosen to host the COP in 2019, but withdrew its offer
shortly after the election of Lula's far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro --
a climate change skeptic accused of dismantling environmental protections
during his term.

Lula, who assumed his third term as head of Brazil in January, has promised
to eradicate illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030.