<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Brazil is back, president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has told rapturous crowds at the UN climate summit COP27 in Egypt.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Walking into a room of supporters singing his name, Lula promised to restore the Amazon rainforest and chase down climate criminals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Huge numbers gathered to see him speak, making him one of the superstars of this summit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nations are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss tackling climate change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just two weeks after his narrow election win, Lula is making his first appearance on the international stage, meeting leaders including from the US, China and the EU at the climate conference.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We must stop this rush to the abyss. There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," he said, saying climate change would have the highest priority for his government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We will do whatever it takes to have zero deforestation and the degradation of our biomes."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While there is no doubt Brazil's president is full of ambition when it comes to tackling climate change, analysts say the challenge will be to make these promises come true.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brazil is deeply divided over Lula's return to power and his job to unite the country won't be easy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The president told the summit that Brazil would prove that it was possible to generate wealth without destroying the environment, saying it was impossible to separate tackling global warming from poverty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Striking a harder tone, he said Brazil would ensure that developing nations got the money they are owed to deal with the effects of climate change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also pledged to protect indigenous people, whose land has been targeted under current President Jair Bolsonaro. Indigenous people in traditional dress stood up cheering and shaking maracas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Lula faces an uphill battle at home in Brazil where he faces significant opposition in Congress and a divided society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under Mr Bolsonaro, who will hand over power to Lula in January, deforestation of the Amazon reached record highs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Puyr Tembé, an indigenous leader from heavily deforested Pará state, told BBC News that Mr Bolsonaro completely dismantled laws protecting the Amazon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday US climate envoy John Kerry said he was confident Lula would bring a complete turnaround on Brazil's approach to the environment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former environment minister in Brazil Isabella Teixeira told BBC News that "the world" is now "embracing Brazil at COP27".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reflecting the challenges at home, Lula told the summit there was just one Brazil and he would govern for all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to make progress on his agenda, Ms Teixeira said Lula would need to convince people and Congress members to agree, not disagree with each other.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lula must reverse Mr Bolsonaro's legacy by rebuilding the environmental protection agencies, unfreezing the Amazon Fund which promotes conservation, and tackling criminals in the Amazon, according to Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of Brazil's Climate Observatory network.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He says that civil society will not hesitate to challenge the new government it if fails to keep its promises.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"When the government is succeeding, we will support them, but if it fails, we will criticise them."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Brazil and the world must be prepared for "mistakes and failures", suggests Roberto Waack, a business leader and chair of Arapyaú Institute.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Climate a complicated problem, Lula has ambitious pledges and we will face disappointments because of the political situation in Brazil," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"You can't just say stop deforestation and the next day the problem is solved," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday, young Brazilian activists at COP27 met Lula. "It was hugely emotional, I cried a lot. It is unbelievable to feel part of Brazil again," Gabrielle Alves, an environmental racism researcher who is part of the Clima de Mudança coalition, told BBC News.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Behind the scenes, negotiations between nations are ongoing at COP27 with a final agreement expected on Friday or Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However there are still wide divisions between countries on key issues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The question of who will pay the bill for irreversible climate damage remains hotly debated, as developing countries want finance urgently earmarked to cover their losses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But developed nations are resisting any question of compensation from countries who historically caused the majority of emissions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is concern too that the crucial aim to limiting temperature rise to 1.5C - which scientists say is crucial to avoiding the worst effects of climate change - is in jeopardy. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>