By Ricardo Luiz
Brazil's environment minister, João Paulo Capobianco, said at a press conference during the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has no intention of giving up oil. His message came while the world debates how to cut emissions, and Brasília made a point of saying that oil remains at the center of the country's strategy.
Capobianco: oil is still strategic
According to the minister, the government sees oil as a resource that remains strategic internationally. "Oil is still a strategic resource internationally, and Brazil does not believe it should give up a strategic resource for which there is demand," Capobianco said.
For him, there is no contradiction between expanding oil exploration and the climate agenda. He says that expansion does not undermine decarbonization, a goal to which the country says it remains committed.
Renewables: 90% of electricity, 50% of the energy matrix
The central argument is the makeup of Brazil's energy supply. Nearly 90% of the country's electricity comes from renewable sources, but across the whole energy matrix, which covers all the energy that moves the country, the figure falls to 50%.
In other words, the green showcase is in the electricity bill. The other half of the energy matrix is not covered by that statistic, and that is where oil carries weight.
Venezuela enters the picture
The statement came right after a bilateral meeting on Wednesday (Nov. 11) between Lula and Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodrigues, on the sidelines of COP31. The two discussed expanding Brazilian investment in Venezuela's oil sector.
They also agreed that Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, will visit the neighboring country later this year. While the climate agenda takes center stage at the conference, the oil agenda moves forward behind the scenes, with a trip scheduled and deals on the radar.
Why it matters
Lula, a leftist and member of the Workers' Party (PT), has sought to present Brazil internationally as a climate leader. The question that remains is how to sell that image to the world while also expanding oil exploration. Capobianco says the two agendas go hand in hand. The promise will now be judged by results, starting with the next steps in the partnership with Venezuela and the concrete direction of Brazilian energy policy.
VDD Analysis
Exploring oil responsibly, attracting investment and guaranteeing energy security are goals consistent with defending the free market and an environment friendly to production. The problem is the rhetoric. A government that presents itself as a climate vanguard but celebrates new oil frontiers gives the impression that the green agenda serves the international showcase more than internal coherence. Who will judge that bill is the facts, not the words.
