SAO PAULO -- The upcoming BRICS summit should tackle inequality and the role of developed nations in combating climate change, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.

During his weekly program "Conversation with the President," broadcast by state-owned media on Monday, the president talked of the summit, scheduled for Aug 22 to 24, stressing that it should serve to "urgently" address such issues of inequality and global governance.

The BRICS is a group of major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

To tackle climate change, Brazil believes it is essential for rich countries to help poorer nations to better protect their endangered forests and biodiversity from exploitation, he said.

"That is the payment of the debt they owe to planet Earth. So now pay up, so we can preserve our forests by generating jobs, job opportunities and conditions to improve people's lives," Lula da Silva said.