Activists described climate change impacts in their home countries and called for youth representation in UN negotiations. Thousands of protesters gathered at the gates of the COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, peacefully blocking the venue.
Brazilian youth groups, Indigenous communities, and activists marched together to demand urgent climate action. Fridays for Future members insisted that young people deserve a seat at the negotiation table.
Rachelle Junsay from Climate Action Philippines said youth frustration stems from inheriting a damaged planet while decision-makers discuss solutions in air-conditioned rooms, excluding affected communities.
Demonstrations Return After Three-Year Hiatus
Protesters demonstrated outside UN climate talks for the first time since 2021. Organizers designed the conference to empower and celebrate Indigenous peoples.
Earlier in the week, activists twice disrupted talks by surrounding the venue, causing minor injuries to two security guards. Saturday’s march stopped before the venue, where a full day of sessions continued.
Many protesters celebrated greater freedom to demonstrate in Belem than at recent climate summits in Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Egypt. Youth leader Ana Heloisa Alves called it the largest march she had ever joined and said the participants could not be ignored.
Alves focused on protecting the Tapajos River, which the Brazilian government plans to develop commercially. Signs from her group declared, “The river is for the people.”
Calls for Broader Participation and Future Goals
Pablo Neri, coordinator for Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra in Pará, said organizers should include more voices to match a climate movement shifting toward public involvement.
The climate conference runs through Friday, 21 November. Analysts and participants do not expect major new agreements, though they hope for progress on previous promises, including funding to help poor countries adapt to climate change.
The United States is skipping the event. President Donald Trump has mocked climate change as a hoax and withdrew the country from the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aimed to limit global warming.
