Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and US President George Bush push at UN for more action on climate change

In New York, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and US President George Bush called for greater efforts to combat climate change. Lula proposed a world conference in Rio de Janeiro 2012 to discuss environmental issues.  “Kyoto….is not enough; we need more ambitious goals after 2012.” Lula said. He added that the country had reduced its deforestation in the Amazon region by 50 percent in recent years. President Bush called for more research and investment in biofuels.

Both the US and Brazil have been criticized for their support of ethanol, which has been receiving unfavorable scrutiny in the media. The US also continues to be criticized for remaining outside the Kyoto framework, and for pursuing bilateral or multilateral talks on climate change outside of the UN effort. The US supported the Australian effort to place climate change on the agenda at the recent APEC meetings in Sydney, and the US is hosting a major economy nation meeting this week in Washington to discuss climate change efforts.

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