BRASILIA, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's aides are reaching out to Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to form a united front of countries with the most tropical rainforest at this year's U.N. climate talks if the leftist wins a new term.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, will be held in November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Lula is the frontrunner in opinion polls ahead of Brazil's October election.
Lula's idea is to build an alliance - which could later be expanded - to push for resolutions to help developing countries preserve their forests and pressure rich countries into contributing to the cost, a top Lula aide said.
Aloizio Mercadante, who is in charge of Lula's campaign program, said the policy team is especially focused on the details of a global carbon market and ways to finance conservation and sustainable development in rainforest regions
"The proposal is to set up a strategic alliance to address the issue of funding at the COP in Egypt," Mercadante told Reuters.
Campaigning in Manaus on Wednesday, Lula pledged to step up Brazilian conservation of the Amazon rainforest, by bolstering environmental protection agency Ibama and increased enforcement, possibly with the help of the military, and Brazil will again have a loud voice in U.N. climate talks if he is elected.
"We want a stronger United Nations with greater decision-making power, especially on the climate issue, because otherwise we will keep making speeches and no-one will comply," Lula said.
Under Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who relaxed environmental protection, deforestation has surged along with illegal logging and gold mining in the Amazon, arousing international criticism of his government.
The rainforests of the Amazon, Borneo and Congo basins are threatened by excessive logging, which hurts biodiversity and releases greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change.
By uniting, the three countries can lead the charge to pressure rich countries for help with the cost of keeping the forests standing, Mercadante said.