Activists highlighted climate impacts in their home countries and pushed for youth representation in UN negotiations. Thousands marched to the gates of the COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, staging a peaceful standoff outside the venue.
Brazilian youth organizations, Indigenous groups, and environmental activists called for urgent action during the high-stakes UN climate meeting. Fridays for Future representatives emphasized the need to include young voices in decision-making panels.
Rachelle Junsay from Climate Action Philippines criticized negotiators for excluding communities most affected by climate change. She said decision-makers discuss solutions in air-conditioned rooms while the real victims remain unheard.
Protests Return After Three-Year Pause
Protesters demonstrated outside UN climate talks for the first time since 2021. Organizers promoted the summit as empowering Indigenous peoples.
Earlier this week, activists twice surrounded the conference venue, leaving two security guards with minor injuries. Saturday’s march intentionally stopped short of the venue to avoid interfering with scheduled sessions.
Participants celebrated the ability to protest more freely in Belem than at recent climate summits in Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Egypt. Youth leader Ana Heloisa Alves called it the largest climate march she had ever joined.
Alves highlighted the Tapajos River, which the Brazilian government wants to develop commercially. Her group’s signs read, “The river is for the people.”
Calls for Broader Inclusion and Limited Expectations
Pablo Neri, coordinator for the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra in Pará, urged organizers to involve more people to reflect a climate movement shifting toward popular participation.
The COP30 conference runs through Friday, 21 November. Analysts and participants do not expect major agreements but hope for progress on previous promises, including funding to help poorer nations adapt.
The United States skipped the talks. President Donald Trump has dismissed climate change as a hoax and withdrew the country from the 2015 Paris Agreement.
