Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro by accusing NATO members of fuelling an arms race with their recent decision to lift defence spending to 5 % of GDP. “É mais fácil investir na guerra do que na paz,” Lula told leaders from 11 emerging economies, arguing that the same resources could fund development goals and revive what he called a collapsing multilateral order. On the summit’s second day, Lula broadened his critique to climate and health policy, warning that climate-change denial and unilateral action are “sabotaging our future”. He said 80 % of global carbon emissions come from fewer than 60 companies and complained that 65 major banks channelled US$869 billion to fossil-fuel projects last year. Meeting the goal of phasing out fossil fuels and ending deforestation, he added, will require US$1.3 trillion a year, building on the US$300 billion already pledged at last year’s COP29. Lula urged BRICS nations to lead a “new paradigm of development” that gives the Global South access to technology and all stages of supply chains. He called for greater fiscal space to fund social programmes and backed a new Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases, arguing that objectives such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 cannot be met without investment in sanitation, nutrition and housing. Reasserting support for the World Health Organization, Lula said global health and climate financing must replace military budgets at the centre of international cooperation.