Environmental Foreign Policy on Stage: Between Discourse and Reality in Lula’s Third Term

Abstract

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s aim to turn Brazil into a global environmental leader has

faced three different challenges: conceptual, economic, and political-institutional tensions. In this article, we discuss and analyze how the concept of climate justice, the old tension between development and environmental protection, and the relationship with the Congress and social movements have been reconfigured in Lula’s third term in office. We discuss these tensions in light of Brazil’s environmental history and of the perception of important actors in the socio-environmental arena. Lastly, we address ways to overcome these three tensions by further empowering democratic institutions and practices.

Keywords:
Environment; foreign policy; climate justice; extractivism; Brazilian Congress