Brazilian environmental campaigner and tribal leader Raoni Metuktire is pitting himself against the government to stop plans for an oil mega-project at the mouth of the Amazon river.

Ahead of Brazil hosting the UN's COP30 climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem in November, Raoni has told AFP he will soon receive President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his home turf, in the world's biggest rainforest, to urge him to put a halt to the undertaking by state-owned oil giant Petrobras.

Brazil's environmental protection agency IBAMA -- an autonomous public body -- is mulling whether to grant Petrobras an exploration license in an offshore area known as the Equatorial Margin.

Despite seeking to make Brazil a leader in the fight against global warming, Lula backs oil exploration as key to growth in Latin America's biggest economy.

Raoni, the leader of the Kayapo people, rose to fame in the 1980s campaigning against deforestation with English singer Sting.

His exact age unknown, but believed to be about 90, Raoni has fought tirelessly ever........

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