Lula pushes Global South bloc
Brazil’s President Lula is heading to Bogotá this weekend for the CELAC summit and a historic CELAC‑Africa Forum to try to align Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa on climate, trade and development — an explicit push to turn COP30 talk into South‑South cooperation ( ). COP30 left a mixed legacy of renewed commitments on finance and “just transitions” but a big implementation gap, so Lula’s diplomacy aims to aggregate bargaining power for the Global South ahead of future climate and development negotiations (dejusticia.org).
The CELAC leaders’ summit is set for March 21 in Bogotá, while the inaugural CELAC–Africa High‑Level Forum runs across March 18–21. (cancilleria.gov.co)) Colombia says the Bogotá forum will convene delegations from 19 African countries alongside CELAC members as part of a push to institutionalize a bi‑regional dialogue. (eje21.com.co)) The African Union Commission has engaged in preparatory talks with CELAC officials and received CELAC delegations in Addis‑Ababa as part of build‑up to the Bogotá meeting. (au.int)) At the CELAC summit Colombia will hand over the Pro Tempore presidency of CELAC to Uruguay during the March 21 leaders’ session. (cancilleria.gov.co)) COP30 delivered a rights‑based Just Transition mechanism and a set of adaptation indicators, and parties agreed political pledges including a plan to scale adaptation finance — outcomes that Bogotá delegates say they want to convert into concrete South‑South financing arrangements. (cesr.org)) Analysts warn COP30 left a major implementation gap: negotiators failed to secure a commitment to a fossil‑fuel phase‑out and civil‑society groups flagged persistent shortfalls in grant‑based finance for transitions. (news.un.org)) Lula has publicly framed deeper ties with Africa and CELAC as a way to “change the economic logic” through South‑South coordination, and Brazil has been pursuing bilateral trade and investment ties—recent data show Brazil‑South Africa trade reached about $32.5 billion in 2025. (agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br))
