King's College London

Brazil’s new ambassador to the UK says his country can be a major international force in the areas of environment and peace.

His Excellency, Antônio Patriota, said given Brazil's size – it has the seventh largest population globally – and its prominent role in Latin America, plus its importance as a biodiversity hotspot and a traditionally peaceful nation, means it is primed to be a major player on the world stage.

Delivering the Brazil Institute’s inaugural lecture, his talk focused on the return of Brazil to the international diplomatic scene, after a four-year period of the Bolsonaro administration, which was characterized by denialism of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a lack of cooperation with international organizations.

The new government, Mr Patriota said, aims to restore Brazil as an important international actor, and that Brazil's Peace and Environmental capital will be of central importance to this goal.

The diplomat and former government minister, highlighted Brazil's peaceful history and historical capacity to mediate conflicts, and that a "peace capital" could be utilized in the UN and other multilateral agencies to pursue agreements internationally.

Regarding the environment, he said the focus was on forest preservation, and issues related to clean energy consumption.

King’s Brazil Institute is leading research on the internal political and economic dynamics of Brazil – a global economic power. It has been pioneering the study of Brazilian culture and history as a concentrated subject area since its founding in 2008.