Dozens of countries have still not secured accommodation for the COP30 climate summit, which will take place next month in the Brazilian city of Belém. Some delegates are therefore considering not attending at all.
The summit, which is expected to attract around 45,000 delegates, aims to draw attention to the importance of the Amazon rainforest in the fight against climate change. However, Belém usually only offers 18,000 hotel rooms, which has put unprecedented pressure on local capacity.
The organizers are trying to defuse the situation—motels, cruise ships, and even churches are being converted into temporary accommodations. Nevertheless, many countries are reporting difficulties in securing suitable conditions.
The biggest problems are faced by small island states, which are most threatened by rising sea levels. Some of them are considering reducing the size of their delegations, while others are considering not participating at all.
Two European countries – Latvia and Lithuania – have also admitted that their participation is at risk due to high hotel prices. “Basically, we have already decided that it is too expensive for us. We have a responsibility to our country's budget,” explained Latvian Climate Minister Kaspars Melnis. He told Reuters news agency that his country had asked whether negotiators could join online.
Similarly, Lithuania stated that it had been offered accommodation at more than $500 per person per night. A spokesperson for the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy pointed out that such costs could jeopardize the legitimacy and quality of the negotiations if several governments were forced to stay away.
The Brazilian COP30 presidency rejected calls to relocate the summit, emphasizing that the decision on participation was up to individual governments. However, Brazil offered a limited number of rooms at reduced rates—up to $220 per day for delegations from developing countries and up to $600 for delegations from wealthier countries.
The United Nations also increased its financial support to enable low-income countries to participate in the negotiations.
According to the Brazilian COP30 presidency, 87 countries have already booked accommodation, while 81 countries are still negotiating.
(reuters, lup)