The logistical nightmare of holding a climate summit in the Amazon

Should the delegates traveling from all over the world to Belém, Brazil, to negotiate the next steps in something as momentous as the fight against climate change face-to-face share a room, or should each have single accommodation? On the eve of the first-ever UN climate summit to be held in a symbolic setting like the Amazon, the topic dominating the debate among COP30 participants is this: the absolutely exorbitant hotel prices for an 11-day event. The average rate is around $700 per night, a price that allows you to enjoy a room with an ocean view at the Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro’s most luxurious hotel, although only on Mondays and during the low season. Brazilian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva has not hesitated to describe the prices in Belém as pure extortion.

Bringing the world to the Amazon to discuss climate change is a goal of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The veteran politician wants those who so often cite the world’s largest tropical rainforest, and its invaluable role in regulating global temperature, to experience it firsthand or at least experience some of the challenges involved in protecting it. Belém is located at the mouth of the Amazon River. It is the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, which Brazil shares with eight other countries; it is also the capital of Pará, the Brazilian state with the highest levels of deforestation.

Discontent over the hotel infrastructure is such that African climate negotiators at COP30 forced an emergency meeting at the UN in late July, where 25 countries demanded the summit be moved to a city truly equipped to host 50,000 guests. The alternative, they argue, is to reduce the number of delegations (that is, lose the opportunity to participate in several negotiations simultaneously), or to not participate at all.

Brazil insists there is no Plan B. “There will be no alternative location, as COP30 will not be moved from Belém,” the host government confirmed in a letter to the countries that requested the change of venue. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has already canceled his presence in Belém, saying his department cannot afford it.

While climate summit participants — diplomats, negotiators, activists, lobbyists, and journalists — are browsing a website published just days ago, months late, in search of hotels or rooms in private homes, Europe is experiencing record heat and burning with serious fires…

But in the UN meetings to prepare for COP30 and in the public debate in Brazil about the mega-event, the logistical nightmare overshadows any discussion of the truly crucial issues: what the consequences will be if the U.S. — historically the country primarily responsible for global warming — again abandons the Paris Agreement; what temperature increase target each country adopts and how to ensure it is met; how to finance the transition away from fossil fuels; how to plan global adaptation to the fires, floods, or hurricanes that will arrive with greater frequency and intensity… Instead of focusing on negotiating joint solutions to these complex issues, delegates are trapped in negotiations over beds and prices in a corner of Brazil.

Brasília has announced that it will guarantee each of the poorest countries (one-third of the UN) 15 single rooms for less than $200 a night. For the remaining governments, 10 rooms are reserved for between $200 and $600.

Since Belém was designated the host city two and a half years ago, it became clear that the lack of services could be a serious problem. The capital of Pará is a city of 1.3 million inhabitants, 40% of whom lack sanitation, and with two-thirds of the streets undeveloped. Last February, when it was evident that there was a shortage of accommodation and prices continued to skyrocket, President Lula encouraged participants to stop complaining and seek lower-star hotels or sleep under the stars. An international scandal erupted when it was reported that Belém was building a highway through a protected area to accommodate the guests.

Stories of the vicissitudes are echoed in the conversations of participants and in the press. This motel, with a clientele of secretive couples in a hurry, has changed its name to COP30 and multiplied its rate 80-fold to accommodate foreign guests. That news outlet bought an entire house in Belém months ago and is renovating it because it’s more affordable than paying for accommodation for its entire team for two weeks. The accommodations advertise rooms for four people, but the photo only shows two beds...

To let off steam, the City Council will declare a holiday, encouraging the exodus of everyone who can leave. And the summit of heads of state and government was brought forward a few days so that the leaders’ delegations, with their entire security apparatus, could leave room for those who will later negotiate, word by word and comma by comma, the fine print of the major commitments.

NGOs eagerly awaited this Brazilian summit because it is finally being held in a democracy, after three editions under autocratic regimes (Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Azerbaijan). Brazil formally welcomes social movements and wants them to attend, but has no plans to regulate prices. Attempts to persuade hoteliers to come to their senses have been unsuccessful.

Given this scenario, the Climate Observatory, a network of more than 130 NGOs and research centers, has warned that what was anticipated as “the people’s summit” could end up becoming “the most exclusionary in the history of the COPs.”

When the government confirmed to the UN a few days ago that there is no Plan B, it added that Belém “already has enough beds to accommodate all the planned participants.” These are the host country’s figures: 53,000 beds in the city and surrounding areas. More than 14,500 in hotels, 6,000 on two cruise ships, 10,000 in apartments rented through real estate agencies, and another 22,500 offered through the Airbnb platform.

The problem may be one of accounting. Some offer beds, while others require single rooms. For the president of the Pará State Hotel Association, Antonio Santiago, there’s only one way out at this point: “Since participants don’t share rooms, we’d need at least 6,000 more. The situation would be resolved if people weren’t alone in the apartments, but with this requirement, we can’t do anything.”

Lula has placed a heavy bet on Belém. While he tries to defend his country from Trump’s brutal tariff attack, he maintains contacts to open up markets and to persuade his allies to join his enthusiasm so that the first Amazon summit doesn’t fail.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition