Indigenous protesters force their way inside COP30 climate summit

Protesters from indigenous groups clashed with security guards last night after forcing their way into the COP30 summit in Brazil.

The climate conference, which officially began on Monday, is looking at how the world can mitigate global heating, as well as improve wider environmental protections.

But the protesters, some beating drums, demanded better protections for forests, with some carrying signs saying ‘Our land is not for sale’, and chanting ‘They cannot decide for us without us’.

Video showed one leader, known only by the name Nato, saying: ‘We can’t eat money. We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.’

He described the protest as ‘a moment of revolt, of indignation’, saying ‘We indigenous people feel the defeat of our territory in our skins.’

Staff used tables and chairs to barricade the entrance to the ‘blue zone’ at the centre of the venue, while a police officer was filmed being pushed away swiftly in a wheelchair.

Joao Santiago, a professor at the Federal University of Para, said: ‘The Indigenous movement wanted to present its demands inside the blue zone but were not allowed in.’

Hundreds had marched to the conference, but calm was restored soon after the clashes, as the protesters dispersed.

Although there have been efforts to include indigenous groups in the summit, with dozens arriving by boat to attend discussions, many feel this is not enough – particularly when thousands of acres of rainforest were cut down just to build a road for the summit.

A spokesperson for United Nations Climate Change told AFP that there were ‘minor injuries to two security staff, and minor damage to the venue’.

They added: ‘Brazilian and UN security personnel took protective actions to secure the venue, following all established security protocols.

‘Brazilian and UN authorities are investigating the incident. The venue is fully secured, and COP negotiations continue.’

Under current policies in place, the world is facing long-term global warming of 2.8C, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), far above the 1.5C set out in the Paris Accord ten years ago.

Visiting Belem ahead of the summit, Keir Starmer admitted that ‘consensus is gone’ in the UK as well as globally, despite ‘unequivocal’ science.

The UK is still ‘doubling down on the fight against climate change’, Sir Keir said, as he defended clean energy policies.

However, this was somewhat undermined by his decision not to invest in a Brazilian-led rainforest fund, which the UK had played a key role in establishing.

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