Colombian President Gustavo Petro participated in a high-level dialogue on climate finance solutions at the United Nations. During his remarks, he stated that his government had been "decertified" by the United States due to its opposition to glyphosate spraying and international drug policy.
Petro denounced that the so-called war on drugs has fallen heavily on poor young people in the Caribbean and Latin America, while the real drug traffickers live in cities like Miami, Dubai, Paris, and Madrid. He pointed out that the UN maintains a misguided approach by blaming the drugs themselves and not the powerful actors behind the business.
The president linked drug policy to other global crises, such as the genocide in Gaza and forced migration, stating that "the war in the world is one of greed against life." He added that natural resources such as coca, coal, and oil are used as fetishes to hide the power relations that generate inequality and violence.
Regarding the climate crisis, Petro warned that humanity is facing a point of no return, illustrated by the death of pink dolphins in the Amazon due to rising water temperatures. “If the Amazon rainforest is not saved, humanity will not be saved,” he said, while criticizing the belief in “green capitalism” to resolve the crisis.
The president insisted that there is no market capable of halting the expansion of fossil fuels on its own and called for global capital regulation. He pointed out that the United Nations is mistaken in believing that banks and financial competition will solve the problem, when in reality, "capital will always invest in fossil fuels if it's more profitable."
Finally, he called on the international community to stop both the genocide in Gaza and the climate crisis. According to Petro, COP 30 will be the last opportunity to collectively decide on a profound change in the economic and social model: "We have ten years left to change the world."