Fight over fossil fuels at COP30

DOZENS of Indigenous protesters blocked the entrance to the UN climate summit in Brazil on Friday to spotlight their struggle in the Amazon, prompting high-level interventions to defuse the situation.

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MUNDURUKU Indigenous people, members of the Ipercg Ayu movement, shout slogans while blocking the entrance to the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference venue, in Belem, Para State, Brazil, on Friday.

(AFP)

The protest lasted about two hours but intensified concerns over security at COP30 after a demonstration on Tuesday in which Indigenous activists stormed the conference venue.

On Friday, about 60 men and women in tribal garb and headdresses, some carrying babies, formed a human barricade at the main summit entrance as tens of thousands of delegates were arriving. Dozens of armed soldiers and military police were guarding the venue entrance, but the UN said in a message to attendees that there was “no danger”.

Beneath a blazing sun, the group demanded a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and stood their ground as diplomats were ushered through side doors into the venue.

“Come on, Lula, show yourself!” shouted Alessandra Korap, an Indigenous leader. “We want to be heard, we also want to participate in the negotiations,” she added. “We have too many problems.”

COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago skipped a morning event to meet with the group, accepting the hand of one protester and at another point, holding a baby in a feathered headpiece.

The demonstrators had “strong and very legitimate concerns,” said Correa do Lago after the consultations in a nearby hall where Indigenous people of all ages sang, danced and chanted.

“We had a very positive, very constructive dialogue,” he said.

After a second intervention that lasted many hours, Correa do Lago said: “You can be sure that this government will defend you at COP30” and he denied there was any “threat” to their rights. The protesters, from the Munduruku community, are seeking to advance the process of demarcating their traditional homelands.