Activists described climate impacts in their home countries and demanded youth participation in UN negotiations. Thousands of demonstrators brought their message to the gates of the COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil. They peacefully blocked access to the venue as the talks continued inside.
Brazilian youth groups, indigenous communities, and climate advocates marched together to call for urgent action during the high-stakes UN meeting. Members of Fridays for Future urged negotiators to include young voices.
Rachelle Junsay from Climate Action Philippines said the situation frustrates young people who will inherit the planet. She argued that decision-makers speak about affected communities while excluding those same communities from the negotiation table.
Demonstrations Return After Years of Restrictions
Protesters demonstrated outside the UN climate talks for the first time since 2021. Organizers promoted the conference as a space that recognizes and uplifts indigenous groups, yet demonstrations have repeatedly disrupted the event.
Earlier in the week, protesters surrounded the venue twice, including a Tuesday incident where two security guards received minor injuries. Saturday’s march ended short of the conference entrance as delegates prepared for a full day of sessions.
Many protesters celebrated being able to march more freely in Belem than in recent host countries such as Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Youth advocate Ana Heloisa Alves called the demonstration the largest she had ever joined and insisted that officials could not ignore the crowd.
Alves marched to defend the Tapajos River from planned commercial development. Signs declared that the river belongs to the people. Pablo Neri, a coordinator in Pará for the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, said organizers should include more citizens to reflect a movement growing increasingly rooted in public participation.
Limited Expectations Surround Ongoing Negotiations
The climate talks are set to continue until Friday, 21 November. Analysts and participants do not expect major new agreements to emerge, though they hope for progress on older commitments, including funding to help poorer nations adapt to climate impacts.
The United States chose not to attend. President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as a scam and withdrew the country from the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aimed to limit global temperature increases.
