Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) – Showered with applause and chants of “Lula!”, Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva makes a splash at a UN climate conference in Egypt, his first foreign trip since his election. Expectations are high for Lula to protect the Amazon after rampant deforestation seen under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. At COP27, Lula vowed to fight deforestation, offered to host UN climate talks in the Amazon region in 2025, and pledged to make Brazil a leader in the global battle against climate change again.