The COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, was marked by significant protests and clashes as environmental activists and Indigenous groups demanded more immediate and binding action from world leaders. The demonstrators, who disrupted several official sessions, called for a complete and rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and greater commitments to climate justice.
Protest leaders and Indigenous representatives argued that the draft Belém Political Package, currently under negotiation, does not go far enough to protect vulnerable communities or the Amazon rainforest, which hosts the summit. They are advocating for a stronger roadmap to ensure the Global North provides adequate climate finance and technology transfer to developing nations.
Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions were heightened by statements from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who criticized the current US administration’s rollback of domestic green policies, accusing the federal government of undermining global climate goals. The protests have forced negotiators to confront the urgency and equity issues at the core of the climate crisis in the final phase of the summit.
