Leaders of the South Asian Climate Change Journalists’ Forum met Brazilian Ambassador Paulo Fernando Dias Feres, who assured that Brazil is working to resolve Belém’s housing crisis ahead of COP30.
COP30 risks becoming the least inclusive climate summit in UN history, Brazil’s largest environmental coalition, Observatório do Clima, warned in a statement released recently.
The network said that government negligence has allowed an accommodation crisis to spiral out of control, turning hotel availability into a “ticking time bomb” just three months before the Amazonian city hosts world leaders.
Despite having two and a half years to prepare, federal and Pará state authorities failed to expand capacity or provide affordable alternatives, the group noted.
“Without an immediate solution, COP30 in Brazil may become the least inclusive ever, with delegations reduced, civil society absent, and the press unable to cover the event,” the statement read.
The coalition stressed that this collapse in participation would undermine the legitimacy of any agreement struck in Belém, handing climate skeptic nations an excuse to derail talks.
The group highlighted that lodging prices have soared beyond reach. Rooms advertised on the official government platform launched in August remain unaffordable, while some hotels are charging more than US $1,000 per night.
Observatório do Clima said the crisis has already shut out representatives from the Global South, especially from Africa and small island states.
The statement also recalled how, earlier this year, Brazilian officials angered diplomats by suggesting that countries should cut delegation sizes or share rooms.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself joked that delegates could “sleep under the stars” comments that civil society says reflect a dangerous lack of seriousness.
“The government knew from the beginning what the logistical demands of a COP were,” the coalition said, accusing authorities of attempting to adapt the COP to the city, rather than adapting the city to the COP. Promises to use cruise ships or build temporary housing never materialized, it added, leaving Belém “unprepared and overpriced.”
The warning comes at a critical moment. With the world on track to breach 1.5°C of warming in the next five years, activists say a poorly attended summit would be a historic embarrassment for Brazil and a lost opportunity for humanity.
Amid growing concerns over the housing crisis ahead of COP30, leaders of the South Asian Climate Change Journalists’ Forum (SACCJF) met with Brazilian Ambassador to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres on Tuesday. The ambassador assured the delegation that his government is working to address the accommodation shortage in Belém. He expressed confidence that the crisis would be resolved in time for the summit, stressing Brazil’s commitment to ensuring suitable arrangements for all participants.
