Brazilian government launches new dialogue with embassies on infrastructure at COP30

The COP30 Extraordinary Secretary announced that leaders and official delegations would receive priority for accommodation. The government on an official website will launch the booking process.

By Mayara Souto / mayara.souto@presidencia.gov.br

On March 31, Valter Correia assured representatives of 103 embassies of the infrastructure that will be available in Belém, Pará, to host the event in November. During the meeting in Brasília, Correia outlined plans for accommodation on ships and a bed management platform, which will be available in the coming weeks. 

"I want to assure everyone that we will have the proper infrastructure for the COP. It is the largest UN (United Nations) event in the world today. We are building an infrastructure that will allow everyone to engage in these negotiations and have one of the best COPs in history," Correia said while presenting measures to accommodate participants.

The secretary invoked the concept of a "mutirão" (joint effort), urging countries to limit official delegations and provide information, as soon as possible, on how many people, on average, each country plans to bring to Brasil. The word was used by André Corrêa do Lago, president of COP30, in a letter to the global community to describe a community working to achieve its commitment to climate goals.

Correia estimates a peak daily flow of 28,000 delegates during the COP (November 10-21). Additionally, the government expects high-level representatives from 130 to 150 countries to attend the Leaders’ Summit on November 6-7. Both meetings will take place at Parque da Cidade in Pará.

The decision to separate the Leaders' Summit from COP debates, —traditionally held concurrently—aims to ease pressure on Belém’s hotel network. In the last two editions, this factor, combined with the countries in which they were held (Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates), led to a record attendance of almost 100,000 people. On average, the Forum has between 30,000-40,000 participants.

"We say here in Brasil that it is not a moment of celebration; it is a moment of tension. We have to come up with agreements and medium- and long-term plans for (environmental) financing, which has not worked out yet, for USD 1.3 trillion. With all our efforts, in Baku, at COP29, we managed to reach USD 300 billion. We need to raise awareness so that delegations make an effort to reduce overflow participation and bring a delegation of negotiators," the secretary pleaded.

COP Village and Cruise Ships

To ensure adequate lodging for key attendees, the Brazilian government will reserve rooms in the Vila de Líderes (near Parque da Cidade) and on two cruise ships docked at Port of Outeiro. Additional housing—including federal/state-held properties and private rentals—will be listed on an official platform.

"We will give priority to international and national delegations, with the intention of accrediting negotiators who will come first for this task, trying to reduce overflow participation," explained the COP 30 secretary.

Each cruise ship offers 4,000 cabins, shared, accommodating up to either five people, or individual, with high-standard presidential suites. Ships will be available from November 5 to 22, the day before the Leaders' meeting begins and the day after COP 30 ends. Bookings for this option will be made online through a platform available to embassies once all details have been finalized. It will be made available to the public on a priority basis only if space is available.

The Vila de Líderes will provide more than 400 rooms for official delegations. The official COP30 accommodation platform—to be launched in the coming weeks, according to the secretary—will be used for on-site bookings. When making a reservation, users will be able to indicate that they are part of an official delegation and will, therefore, have priority in securing a place.

In general, the official platform can be used by the entire public that will participate in the discussions, including the press, civil society groups, and international organizations. The digital environment will also include other types of venues, such as private homes, schools, and military areas.

Raising awareness

Next week, according to the COP30 president, the Brazilian government will raise awareness among Belém's hotel sector about the price increases in the sector for the period of the international event.

"We are not going to put a blindfold in front of our eyes, we see the cost of accommodation and they have gone beyond any sense of responsibility, any common sense. We have gone far from reasonable to illegal acts, with laws that prevent this abuse of economic power. We have hotels that cost BRL 2 million for two weeks. This is unacceptable; this must be changed," said the secretary.

Brazilian presidency

Correia also gave an update on the work in Parque da Cidade, which covers 500,000 m² and will host the world's largest forum on climate change. According to him, the “Blue Zone” is almost completely finished. The site is intended for people accredited by the UN and where the official negotiations will take place. The “Green Zone”, which is open to the public and intended for exhibitions and social activities, is still under construction.

Within the “Blue Zone”, there will also be themed pavilions for each country, and under the Brazilian presidency, there will be something new. Six themed pavilions will be part of the structure to bring together important debates on climate change, gathering diverse countries.

“We want the public to know that there will be events on those topics in those spaces, so that the COP30 thematic agenda becomes international,” explained Ambassador Liliam Chagas, director of Itamaraty's Climate Department, who also took part in the meeting with the embassies.

According to the head of climate negotiations at COP30, the debate on climate change began this month, during the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, held last week in Berlin, Germany.

To complement the discussions, the Brazilian COP presidency has decided to return to the Climate Weeks, which are events that precede the Conference, as a kind of “preparation” for the Summit. The first will take place between May 19 and 23 in Panama, which will represent Latin America. The second will take place in September, in a country on the African continent to be defined.

The traditional “Pre-COP”, which precedes the official Summit, is scheduled for early October. The date and venue have yet to be decided.  

English version: Bárbara Menezes

Proofreading by Enrique Villamil