Brazil Crowd Marches for Climate Justice Before COP30

Thousands of people poured into the streets of an Amazon city hosting the COP30 talks, dancing to the beats of loud speakers in the first large-scale protest at a UN climate summit in years.

As the first week of climate talks drew to a close with nations deadlocked, indigenous people and activists sang songs, chanted slogans, and rolled a giant ball of earth onto the beach in Belém under the scorching sun.

Others held a mock funeral procession for fossil fuels, dressed in black and impersonating grieving widows, carrying three coffins marked with the words "coal," "oil," and "gas."

This was the first major protest outside the annual climate talks since COP26 in Glasgow four years ago, as the previous three gatherings were held in places with less tolerance for demonstrations—Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Azerbaijan.

The Belém rally, dubbed the "Great People's March" by organisers, came at the midpoint of difficult negotiations and came after two indigenous-led protests disrupted proceedings earlier in the week.

“Today we are witnessing a massacre as our forest is being destroyed,” said Benedito Huni Kuin, a 50-year-old member of the Huni Kuin Indigenous group from western Brazil.

“We want to make our voices heard from the Amazon and demand results,” he added. “We need more Indigenous representatives at COP to defend our rights.”

Their demands include “reparations” for damages caused by corporations and governments, particularly to marginalised communities.

After a 4.5 km (2.8 mi) march through the city, the demonstration stopped a few blocks from the COP30 venue, where authorities deployed troops to protect the site.

Inside the venue, COP30 President Andre Correia do Lago acknowledged that the first extended week of talks had failed to achieve any breakthroughs and urged diplomats not to waste time on time-wasting tactics.

Differences remain between countries over trade measures and weak climate targets, while conflict persists over demands by wealthy nations to triple financial aid to poorer nations to help them adapt to a warming world.