Activists from non-governmental organisations, journalists and even government delegates have found themselves facing an unprecedented problem as the thirtieth United Nations climate conference approaches — Cop30, to be held in the city of Belém in Brazil this November. The event that had presented itself as inclusive, open, and organised on the doorstep of the Amazon rainforest — precisely to underscore its proximity to the Earth's most vulnerable populations — risks becoming inaccessible.

Up to 52,000 dollars for a single delegate at Cop30 in Belém

What is lacking in the capital of the state of Pará, located in the northern portion of Brazil's vast territory, is accommodation. Anyone who has tried to book a hotel, a bed and breakfast or a rental apartment has been confronted with a paradoxical situation. On one side, hundreds of listings for "new" properties — that is, ones never previously rented out, difficult to find online, with no reviews, and about which people have been more or less openly advised to be wary. On the other, existing hotels or apartments, but at exorbitant prices.

Just Fossil Fuel Transitions - Jean Monnet CoE @CoE_Unburnable

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It hasn't even begun, and #COP30 is already revealing its first cracks, rooted in inequality. Over 70% of delegations haven't secured lodging due to high prices and restrictive booking conditions.

climatechangenews.com/2025/08/22/cop…

27 ago 2025 · Apri su X →

Some rooms in hotels that are by no means luxury establishments are being offered at 3,700 dollars per night. This means that staying in Belém for the entire duration of the conference — two weeks — would require shelling out 51,800 dollars. These are admittedly extreme cases, but it is essentially impossible to find anything costing less than 6,000–7,000 euros for around ten days.

Panama's head of delegation: "It's pure madness and it's offensive"

These are figures that, for those intending to send multiple people, are often completely out of reach. "This is not a simple logistical problem: it's pure madness, and it's offensive," Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez told the French daily Le Monde. He will lead Panama's delegation at Cop30. Many properties also impose minimum stays of 10 or 15 nights and do not allow refunds in the event of cancellation.

The situation has grown so complicated that the Unfccc itself — the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which organises the Cops — was compelled to turn to the Brazilian government and request direct intervention. As a result, an official platform was created in recent weeks offering rooms and apartments. The advantage is that the properties listed on the government website are certainly real; the problem is that the prices remain unchanged.

The risk: a Cop30 without activists or scientists — but fossil fuel lobbyists will be there

In concrete terms, the risk is that thousands of activists — especially younger ones — along with experts from environmental organisations, observers, scientists and even delegates from some states may not be able to afford to attend Cop30. Those who will be able to attend regardless include delegations from the world's wealthiest nations, as well as lobbyists from the major multinational corporations in the fossil fuel sector, already present in very large numbers at previous conferences. Their voices could end up carrying far greater weight in the absence of sufficient counterbalancing representation.

According to a survey conducted by the Unfccc, only eighteen nations have been able to book accommodation — equivalent to 10 per cent of those participating. And unsurprisingly, in most cases these are industrialised countries. 87 per cent of states also report prohibitive prices. According to the Brazilian government, the situation is slightly better: 61 nations are said to have found facilities for their delegations. But this still represents only just over a quarter of all participating governments — a situation that has never arisen before.

Poor nations given a subsidy of just 147 dollars per day for their delegates

So much so that numerous nations have tried to persuade the Brazilian government to change the venue for Cop30 at the last minute, opting for locations with more accommodation capacity. However, Brasília had staked its reputation on the "Cop at the gateway to the Amazon" and, for political reasons, has no intention of backing down. It comes as no surprise, then, that the South American government has reeled off a series of figures: Belém supposedly has 53,000 beds available, including 14,500 hotel rooms and six thousand berths aboard two cruise ships that will be moored in the city's port for the occasion.

It will nonetheless be necessary to explain how the delegations of the 144 poorest nations on Earth are to stay within the UN subsidy paid to them to cover their expenses — which for Cop30 in Belém has been set at 147 dollars per day. A figure that is supposed to cover not only accommodation but also food and transport.