UN holds emergency talks over sky-high prices for COP30 local weather summit

The United Nations’ local weather bureau held an pressing assembly on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) over considerations that sky-high lodging costs for this yr’s COP30 local weather summit in Brazil might worth poorer nations out of the negotiations, in accordance with diplomats and a doc seen by Reuters.

Brazil is getting ready to host this yr’s UN local weather summit in November within the rainforest metropolis of Belem, the place almost each authorities on the earth will collect to barter their joint efforts to curb local weather change.

Issues about logistics have dogged preparations for COP30. Creating nations have warned that they can not afford Belem’s lodging costs, which have soared amid a scarcity of rooms.

In an emergency assembly of the U.N. local weather physique’s “COP bureau” on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), Brazil agreed to deal with nations’ considerations about lodging and report again at one other assembly on August 11, mentioned Richard Muyungi, chair of the African Group of Negotiators, who referred to as the assembly.

“We have been assured that we are going to revisit that on the eleventh, to get assurances on whether or not the lodging might be sufficient for all delegates,” Mr. Muyungi advised Reuters after the assembly.

He mentioned African nations wished to keep away from trimming their participation due to the fee.

“We aren’t prepared to chop down the numbers. Brazil has obtained a whole lot of choices by way of having a greater COP, an excellent COP. So that’s the reason we’re pushing that Brazil has to offer higher solutions, moderately than telling us to restrict our delegation,” Mr. Muyungi mentioned.

One other diplomat conversant in the assembly mentioned complaints about affordability got here from each poor and rich nations.

An agenda for Tuesday’s (July 29, 2025) assembly, seen by Reuters, confirmed it was convened to deal with “operational and logistical preparations for the Local weather Change Convention in Belem” and the African Group of Negotiators’ considerations on the matter.

Brazil’s Overseas Ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Brazilian officers organising the summit have made repeated assurances that poorer nations may have entry to lodging they will afford.

A spokesperson for the UN’s local weather physique, UNFCCC, declined to touch upon the assembly.

Cruise ship lodges

Brazil is racing to develop the 18,000 resort beds often accessible in Belem, a coastal metropolis of 1.3 million, to host the roughly 45,000 folks projected to attend COP30.

The federal government this month mentioned it had secured two cruise ships to offer 6,000 additional beds for delegates. It additionally opened bookings to growing nations for extra inexpensive lodging at day by day charges of as much as $220.

That’s nonetheless above the “day by day subsistence allowance” the UN presents some poorer nations to help their participation at COPs. For Belem, the determine is $149.

Two UN diplomats confirmed Reuters quotes they’d obtained from lodges and property managers in Belem for charges of round $700 per particular person per night time throughout COP30.

Officers from six governments, together with wealthier European nations, advised Reuters they’d not but secured lodging due to excessive costs, and a few mentioned they have been getting ready to cut back their participation.

A spokesperson for the Dutch authorities mentioned it might must halve its delegation in contrast with latest COPs, when the Netherlands despatched round 90 folks in the course of the two-week occasion, together with envoys, negotiators and youth representatives.

Poland’s deputy local weather minister Krzysztof Bolesta advised Reuters earlier this month: “We do not have lodging. We’ll in all probability have to chop down the delegation to the bone.”

“In an excessive occasion, perhaps we should not present up,” he mentioned.