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10h ago

Brazil Rebukes Merz Over Belém Remarks at COP30

The dispute complicates Germany’s donor role after Merz pledged support for Lula’s Tropical Forests Forever Fund.

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz join hands after meeting during the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz hold a bilateral meeting at COP30
The German chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Lula of Brazil at Cop30 talks

Overview

  • Returning to Berlin from COP30, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said journalists with him were glad to leave Belém and referred to the city as "that place."
  • President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Pará Governor Helder Barbalho and Belém Mayor Igor Normando criticized the comments, with Lula urging Merz to experience local culture before judging.
  • A Merz spokesperson expressed regret that time constraints limited his experience of the Amazon and conveyed respect for Belém’s organization of the conference.
  • German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider praised Brazilian hospitality in a separate COP30 address, underscoring contrasting messages from Berlin.
  • The flap unfolded as Belém hosts tens of thousands for the UN climate talks and after Merz’s Nov. 7 pledge of a considerable contribution to Lula’s Tropical Forests Forever Fund, with social media reactions in Brazil including a Rio mayor’s slur later deleted.