Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to promise to reverse the environmental policies of his right-wing predecessor and protect the Amazon rainforest at this week’s UN climate summit in Egypt.

Lula’s trip to Sharm el-Sheikh for the COP27 talks on Monday will be his first international visit since defeating Brazil’s far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the October 30 run-off.

The 77-year-old, who promised during the election campaign to work for zero deforestation, will speak at the conference on Wednesday, his press team said.

Alluding to Lula’s victory speech, in which he vowed to end Brazil’s “pariah” status, his team said he “sought to have more conversations with world leaders in a single day than Bolsonaro has done in four years.”

But according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, the new president has been unable to arrange most of the dozen or so high-level meetings he requested.

However, Lula could meet with US climate czar John Kerry and announce that Brazil is ready to host the COP30 summit in 2025, the newspaper said.

Latin America’s most populous country became increasingly isolated under Bolsonaro, analysts say, in part due to its permissive policies on deforestation and exploitation of the Amazon, whose preservation is seen as crucial to combating global warming.

If Lula – who was president from 2003 to 2010 – could curb deforestation and illegal mining, he would make a big contribution to the global fight against climate change, said Francisco Eliseu Aquino, a climate expert at the University of Rio Grande do Sul.

“Lula knows the COP talks well. He has always been proactive in international discussions and has maintained a high international profile during his first two terms in office,” said Aquino.

To tackle the environmental challenge, the former steelworker, who will begin his third term on January 1, is hoping for help from the international community.

Lula’s former and likely future Environment Minister Marina Silva has previously held meetings at the UN summit and said that Brazil will “lead by example” in tackling climate change.

She said Lula plans to fight the destruction of the Amazon and pursue a 12 million-hectare reforestation goal, with or without international help.

However, she welcomed announcements from Norway and Germany that they would resume financial support for the Amazon Fund. Both countries stopped helping in 2019 shortly after Bolsonaro took power.

“With Lula’s weight and influence, and global concerns about the Amazon, it’s possible that some bilateral deals will be reached,” said Daniela Costa, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace Brazil.

Silva said the US government is “ready to deepen cooperation with Brazil” after meeting with Kerry last week.

She also said in an interview with Brazilian broadcaster Globonews that she invited the United States to contribute to the Amazon Fund.

Deforestation was at high levels early in Lula’s first term in 2003, before falling sharply under Silva as minister. But she resigned in 2008, saying she wasn’t getting the money she needed to further her efforts.

Aquino said the policies of Lula’s next administration must be “much bolder” than during his first two terms.

At COP27, Lula could announce the creation of a high-level body to coordinate the work of various ministries active in climate work.

Since Bolsonaro – a staunch agribusiness ally – took office in January 2019, average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased by 75 percent compared to the previous decade.

Fighting global warming isn’t just about protecting valuable areas like the Amazon, he said. “It’s also about the economy, health and agriculture.”

“We welcome the arrival of Lula with great hope,” said Dinaman Tuxa, coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.

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