President of COP30 rules out changing Belém, despite international pressure

After pressure from participating countries and a letter signed by 25 delegations suggesting the transfer of COP30 to another city with greater infrastructure, the event president, André Corrêa do Lago, ruled out any possibility of change. “We will not change,” he said on Friday (1) in an interview with G1.

The statement occurs amid increased criticism of the costs and quality of accommodation in Belém (PA), which will receive the United Nations Climate Conference in November. According to Lago, Brazil has the necessary infrastructure to host the event, and the problem is restricted to prices charged, especially by hotels in the capital of Pará.

“It is not a matter of number of accommodations. It is not a matter of infrastructure. And I believe that satisfactory answers will be given by the group that is dealing with the issue of accommodation,” said Lago.

“But the fact is that this discussion has become public and therefore I think we will have a more intense communication about the possible solutions to this issue.”

Price crisis

Lake’s speech comes after the revelation of a letter sent by 25 countries – including G7 nations such as Canada, Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands – UNFCCC, UN climate arm, warning about exorbitant costs to participate in the summit. In addition to the values, the document mentioned logistics and security problems.

Central criticism concerns the possibility that poorer delegations are left out of negotiations, just when the event proposes to listen to countries more vulnerable to climate change.

Lago acknowledged the challenge: “Let’s ensure that this only dimension being raised, which is the price of hotels, can be overcome so that everyone can come to Belém.”

At another point, the president of COP30 has admitted that some accommodations are priced up to 10 times higher than usual.

Hosting platform

To circumvent the crisis, the COP organization has launched a hosting platform, promised since May, initially focused on developing countries and Pacific Islands. The measure provides for the offer of rooms of up to US $ 220 (R $ 1,225) per day, with specific quotas for different categories of countries.

Other measures under discussion include partnerships with Airbnb, use of cruise ships and even properties of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program. The government also investigates evidence of abusive practices in the local hotel sector amid price boom.

COP30 will be held between November 10 and 21 and is expected to bring together about 50,000 people, including heads of state, negotiators, environmentalists and civil society representatives. The city of Belém was chosen as headquarters for representing the Amazon region, protagonist in the debates on climate and deforestation.