Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for a determined fight against climate change and growing social inequality in a speech at the United Nations.
"The climate crisis is knocking on the door and destroying our homeland," the leader of Latin America's largest country said as the UN General Assembly's high-level debate week opened in New York on Tuesday.
"People in poor countries are suffering particularly badly from climate change, which is largely caused by the developed world," Lula said.
He again called on rich countries to provide $100 billion per year for climate protection in developing countries, a longstanding pledge that has gone unfulfilled.
"The world is becoming more and more unequal. Today, a child's future depends on which part of the world he or she is born in," Lula said.
"We must overcome resignation, we cannot continue to accept this."
The Brazilian president also called for more action in the fight against violence against women, as well as strengthening the rights of homosexuals and the disabled.
In light of growing geopolitical tensions, Lula warned against attempts to divide the world into zones of influence and revive the Cold War.
"The war in Ukraine makes it clear that we are all incapable of enforcing the goals and principles of the UN Charter," he said. "Promoting a culture of peace is the duty of all of us."
