"SAO PAULO - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he had officially launched a bid for the northeastern city of Belem to host the COP30 international climate summit in 2025, fulfilling a promise he made last year.

Lula, who in November attended the COP27 in Egypt as president-elect pledging to recommit the rainforest nation to tackling the climate crisis, said at the time he would name a city in the Amazon to host the 2025 U.N. climate talks.

Belem is the capital of the Amazonian state of Para and one of the largest cities in the region by population, second only to Manaus, which hosted games of the 2014 World Cup."

Gabriel Araujo reports for Reuters January 11, 2023. [2]