Episode #18: Climate Leaders 101: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s balance between economic growth and environmental preservation

RAIA(ffairs)

As Lula positions Brazil as a willing and active participant in international efforts, he aims to demonstrate the country's commitment to environmental protection and its pivotal role in shaping a sustainable future. In this episode of our 2023 Climate Leaders 101, we discuss Brazilian President Lula with IE students, Lana and Maxima. We not only discuss Lula’s current political status, but his previous involvement in Brazilian politics and particularly his stance on workers’ rights. The students delve into the pressures exerted on Brazil due to climate change, listing this as one of the reasons Lula wishes to enact climate policies on the national level, but also why he campaigns for action at the global stage. When discussing Lula’s climate action, the Amazon Fund is both praised and criticized by our analysis. Lastly, we refer to Lula’s involvement in the biggest corruption scandal in the country, the “Operation Car Wash”, and how this has tainted his credibility. Finally, Lana and Maxima explain why Lula IS to be considered a climate leader and discuss Lula’s view on the difference between developed and less developed countries regarding climate action. The Climate Leaders 101 series is brought to you as a collaboration between RAIA and IE University’s School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs. Ten IE students have researched five climate leaders under RAIA supervision and with RAIA’s methodology ahead of the COP28. This is the second year we have conducted this research program fully financed by our partners from IE University.Check out the report on Lula written by Lana and Maxima: https://raiagroup.org/ie-university-x-raia-research-program-2023Check out Lana Francella’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanafrancella/Check out Maxima Yasmin Riep’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxima-yasmin-riep/