- Formal negotiations
- Finance
- Global review
- Global report
- Digital sequence information
- Harmful subsidies
- Marine biodiversity
- Planning, monitoring, reporting and review
- Article 8(j) implementation
- Biodiversity and climate change
- Links with other bodies
- Around the COP
- Armenian presidency
- Protests
- Lobbying and influence
- Carbon and biodiversity markets
With less than five months to go until COP30 kicks off in the Amazon city of Belém, African and Pacific island nations have told the Brazilian government they are worried that the sky-high cost of lodgings could compromise their participation in the UN climate talks in November.
Speaking at a press conference last week in Bonn, where countries gathered for mid-year talks, Richard Muyungi, chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), said the issue of accommodation in Belém was causing “big concerns” for several delegations, including some countries that are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
“I have written a letter to the COP presidency expressing our concerns. We have had discussions with the COP presidency with the assurance that they are going to look at how they can accommodate our concerns,” said the Tanzanian negotiator.
Ilana Seid, chair of the AOSIS group of small island states, said in a statement that their representatives -who are already facing travel challenges – “have not received firm solutions to address the issue of astronomical costs of the already limited accommodation options”.
The chair of the group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Evans Njewa of Malawi, told Climate Home that its members had also expressed accessibility concerns and spoken “several times” about the issue with the COP30 presidency in Bonn.
Panamanian negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey said in a social media post in late June that he was worried that COP30 could become “the most inaccessible COP in recent memory”.
Prices on Booking.com for a three-star hotel in Belém can exceed $5,000 per person during the first week of COP30 from November 10 to 16, while rental apartments on Airbnb are being advertised for over $430 a night.
Amazon forest COP
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose Belém as the COP30 host city over two years ago, in a push to put the Amazon rainforest at the centre of the UN climate talks. Since then, the city has been scrambling to provide enough new rooms and transport for the more than 50,000 expected participants.
Some delegates are expected to sleep in river cruise boats, converted classrooms, tents and even love hotels, as the city of 1.3 million looks for creative solutions to the massive influx of visitors.
COP organisers have promised at least 24,000 extra beds in Belem, as well as an official accommodation platform that was commissioned in late May. The online platform had yet to be launched as of early July.
One source with knowledge of the situation said it will not be released for at least six more weeks while another source said the reason for the delay is a lack of accommodation to advertise on the platform.
COP30 president André Aranha Corrêa Do Lago has defended Lula’s decision to host the talks in Belém, saying it will showcase the “extraordinary role” of rainforests in the fight against climate change. In a briefing to other governments in Bonn about the logistics of the Belem summit, COP30 special secretary Valter Correia said Brazil has “a long history of making happen what many think is unlikely”.
Brazil’s environment minister suggests roadmap to end fossil fuels at COP30
To ease pressure on the city’s logistics, the Brazilian government decided to bring forward the high level section at the start of the summit, where heads of state deliver speeches and set the tone for negotiations. The World Leaders’ Summit is now scheduled to take place on November 6 and 7, several days before COP30 talks officially kick off on November 10.
“We will continue pushing the Brazilian government to make sure we get appropriate treatment in terms of accommodation and, of course, transport,” AGN chair Muyungi said in Bonn. This is important, he added, because negotiators need to return to their rooms at late hours, as sessions can extend beyond midnight.
Participation concerns
At the mid-year talks in Bonn, the difficulty of finding affordable accommodation in Belém was a major talking point in informal conversations. Campaigners have been raising the issue for months, arguing that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people could end up being excluded from the UN summit because they cannot pay for a room. And those with higher incomes are struggling too.
“I want to go Belém but how?” one academic messaged Climate Home. “Do you have any idea for the accommodation – it seems very troublesome.”
One climate campaigner said the Christian NGO they work for was using its links with Brazilian churches to access accommodation, while another said their colleague had an aunt who had been able to organise – albeit expensive – accommodation.
One negotiator said their delegation thought it would be best to move the COP out of Belém to a bigger Brazilian city – like São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. But that decision would be “deeply political” and the Brazilian government is unlikely to sanction it, they said.
The COP30 presidency had not responded to Climate Home’s request for comment by the time of publication.
The UN Climate Change secretariat pointed to its quarterly update, published during the June talks in Bonn, which referred to preparations for COP30. It noted in this document: “The secretariat has been working closely to help the [COP30] Presidency assess and address a range of challenges, including around accommodation availability and affordability, and transportation.“
Speaking at a press briefing in Bonn, Valter Correia, special secretary for COP30, said the Brazilian government has commissioned new buildings like Vila Lideres, with capacity of around 400 rooms, which will offer prices of around $100-$250 per night. The building will turn into a Pará state government building after COP30.
“I have confidence that we will reach enough (rooms). We have a good quantity already. We will reach enough (rooms) to allow for every country to participate with their whole delegation, without having to make cuts due to challenges posed by prices” Correia said.
Brazilian news outlet Sumaúma reported that government authorities told hotels in Belém to slash prices or they could risk other countries requesting a relocation of the event to a larger city.
Correia said during the press conference in Bonn that the Ministry of Justice has been ordered to assess whether prices are being inflated. If that is found to be the case, hotel owners could face fines and lose operating licenses, he added.
Belém’s electric bus controversy: a cautionary tale for COP30
Several sources suggested that a compromise could be to keep the two-day gathering of world leaders, which will take place on November 6 and 7, in Belém, but to move the COP30 negotiations and accompanying conference – from November 10-21 – to a bigger city. A COP30 Local Leaders Forum will take place in Rio de Janeiro on November 3-5.
The COP venue has changed at the last minute before. In October 2019, because of social unrest, Chile withdrew its offer to host the COP25 climate talks just over a month before they were scheduled to start. Two days later, Spain offered to host them in Madrid and the summit went ahead there relatively smoothly.
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African and Pacific delegations air “big concerns” over COP30 accommodation
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Prepared by a coalition of nine Western Australian union, industry, conservation, and community organisations—including UnionsWA, the Conservation Council WA, and the Smart Energy Council—the WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan provides a practical roadmap to transform Western Australia into a clean energy powerhouse while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
Western Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads: lead the global clean energy economy or watch investment, future industries, and secure jobs go elsewhere. The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan outlines a transformative blueprint to harness the state’s world-class solar and wind resources. Discover how legislated renewable targets, green iron manufacturing, and a dedicated regional training strategy can generate tens of thousands of local jobs, lower household bills, and build a resilient, net-zero future for all Western Australians.
WA needs a clear and forward-thinking plan if it is going to become a competitive renewable energy powerhouse and maintain its economic strength through the energy transition.
“Western Australians know a faster renewable energy transition will lower their household expenses and prevent harmful climate pollution. But the community also needs clear direction to ensure this transition will create jobs, lower costs and not cause undue environmental harm.
“Here, sectors representing a broad range of interests have laid the groundwork for those outcomes, clearly outlining what is needed to create a future for WA that is good for the environment, for the climate, for workers and for the economy.
Summary
The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan sets out a strategic roadmap to position Western Australia as a global clean energy superpower while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
The report establishes three overarching goals:
- Creating local employment.
- Maintaining industrial competitiveness.
- Lowering household energy costs
To realize this vision, the framework details actionable measures to follow on from the recent WA Government announcement of a 75% Renewable Energy Target by 2031 for the South West Interconnected System. This includes developing a statewide Renewable Energy Target, coordinating statewide workforce and training pipelines, strategically planning regional infrastructure to safeguard high-value biodiversity and cultural heritage, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing through household electrification incentives and First Nations equity partnerships. Ultimately, the plan highlights that establishing clear policy and regulatory certainty will unlock lower energy bills, boost power reliability, and secure the state’s global competitiveness in emerging green commodity export markets.
Key Findings
- Statewide Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Targets: The report calls for a statewide RET and 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets to remove policy risk, lower capital costs, and attract clean energy investment.
- Transformative Job Creation: Accelerating the transition offers massive employment prospects, including up to 8,800 solar and battery jobs by 2050, as well as 24,000 ongoing and 11,000 construction jobs in a commercial green iron industry.
- Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness: Requiring large gas users to adopt binding electrification timetables and providing concessional financing will protect existing energy-intensive manufacturers from rising energy costs and impending domestic gas shortfalls.
- Green Commodity Export Leadership: Western Australia can build new export markets in green iron, green ammonia, and offshore oil/gas decommissioning by constructing shared common-user infrastructure and setting dedicated Green Commodity Export Targets.
- Coordinated Workforce & Training Pipeline: To address critical skill shortages the plan recommends establishing a WA Clean Energy Jobs Plan 2050, three regional training hubs, and dedicated pathways for female and under-represented apprentices.
- Environmental Safeguards & Community Benefits: Fast-tracked development must be paired with State Planning Policies that avoid high-biodiversity and cultural heritage lands, mandate new data centres to run on additional renewable power, and deliver household electrification rebates and First Nations equity partnerships.
What you can do
WA has an opportunity to lead on sustainable, clean energy and associated industries. You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
Countries have completed the first “global review” of their progress towards reversing nature loss by 2030 at the COP17 biodiversity talks in Yerevan, Armenia.
The review “notes with deep concern” that, unless action is “rapidly accelerated”, the goal to reverse nature loss and meet a set of 23 targets by 2030 “will not be achieved”.
It “urges” countries to accelerate action, including by “increased ambition in addressing the gaps”.
Much of the discussions in Yerevan focused on how to raise the necessary funds to help developing countries protect nature.
Some major economies pushed to expand the range of nations that are expected to provide finance, with countries agreeing at the end of the two weeks of talks that non-donors that want to contribute can “signal interest” before COP18.
This came after developed countries failed to meet a target to significantly ramp up nature finance over the last few years.
It also came as a landmark fund agreed at COP16 in Colombia to pay communities for the genetic resources derived from nature stands nearly empty two years on.
The Yerevan talks marked the halfway point of the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), the “Paris Agreement for nature” first made in 2022 and due to be achieved by 2030.
During the nearly 12-hour-long final plenary, countries voted for Quito, Ecuador, to host the COP18 nature talks, which will be held in 2028.
Countries managed to sign off on all the major negotiation texts, marking a stark contrast to COP16, which ran so far over time that the Colombian presidency lost “quorum”, forcing talks to resume in Rome months later.
Below, Carbon Brief has detailed analysis of all of the key outcomes from COP17.
Formal negotiations
Finance
Finance, predictably, was at the heart of the discord and deadlock at the Yerevan talks.
At COP17, discussions on finance had to achieve several outcomes.
The first part – to take stock of biodiversity finance mobilised so far to meet the nature deal’s goals – fell under the global review.
As the global report noted, developed countries failed to meet their commitments to raise “at least $20bn a year by 2025” for nature. Delegates pointed to falling aid levels and a sharp 27% decline in environmental funding for the 2026-30 period.
The second part was to agree on how to mobilise resources for the next four years, to meet the GBF’s goals and targets.
Calls to “broaden the contributor base” of who pays to protect nature – and whether that should include emerging economies – became the most fraught element of the talks.
Eventually, countries