Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva headed on Tuesday morning for Copenhagen, Denmark, to attend the 15th UN Climate Change Conference (COP15), where he will participate in the discussion about global warming.

Da Silva arrives in Copenhagen two days earlier than expected and reminded before leaving that Brazil has assumed the voluntary commitment to reduce emissions of polluting gases between 36.1 and 39.8 percent until 2020.

The Brazilian leader has also rejected the idea of raising rates to products of rich countries which refuse to adopt targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In response to a question from a reader in his weekly column The President Answers (O Presidente Responde), Da Silva said that although rich countries are reluctant to adopt the most relevant targets, Brazil cannot appeal to "illegal commercial instruments."

"Our country must respect the commitments made at the World Trade Organization. Raising the tax on goods from developed countries would be only a discriminatory measure," he said.

The Brazilian delegation in Denmark is headed by the chief of staff Dilma Rousseff and counts on members from the Ministries of External Relations, Environment and Science and Technology.

Rousseff said that developed countries want to "turn the tables," referring to the proposal that developing countries should contribute to a global fund to combat climate change.

Brazil wants, on the contrary, to receive resources to compensate the commitment of reducing Amazon deforestation by 80 percent until 2020. Up to Friday (December 18), representatives from more than 190 countries are gathered in Copenhagen to reach an agreement to complement the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2009)