The United Nations’ climate bureau held an pressing assembly on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) over issues that sky-high lodging costs for this yr’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil may worth poorer international locations out of the negotiations, in response to diplomats and a doc seen by Reuters.
Brazil is making ready to host this yr’s UN climate summit in November within the rainforest metropolis of Belem, the place almost each authorities on the planet will collect to barter their joint efforts to curb climate change.
Concerns about logistics have dogged preparations for COP30. Developing international locations have warned that they can’t afford Belem’s lodging costs, which have soared amid a scarcity of rooms.
In an emergency assembly of the U.N. climate physique’s “COP bureau” on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), Brazil agreed to handle international locations’ issues about lodging and report again at one other assembly on August 11, mentioned Richard Muyungi, chair of the African Group of Negotiators, who known as the assembly.
“We were assured that we will revisit that on the 11th, to get assurances on whether the accommodation will be adequate for all delegates,” Mr. Muyungi informed Reuters after the assembly.
He mentioned African international locations wished to keep away from trimming their participation due to the associated fee.
“We are not ready to cut down the numbers. Brazil has got a lot of options in terms of having a better COP, a good COP. So that is why we are pushing that Brazil has to provide better answers, rather than telling us to limit our delegation,” Mr. Muyungi mentioned.
Another diplomat acquainted with 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 handle “operational and logistical preparations for the Climate Change Conference in Belem” and the African Group of Negotiators’ issues on the matter.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Brazilian officers organising the summit have made repeated assurances that poorer international locations could have entry to lodging they will afford.
A spokesperson for the UN’s climate physique, UNFCCC, declined to touch upon the assembly.
Cruise ship lodges
Brazil is racing to increase the 18,000 lodge beds often out there in Belem, a coastal metropolis of 1.3 million, to host the roughly 45,000 individuals projected to attend COP30.
The authorities this month mentioned it had secured two cruise ships to offer 6,000 further beds for delegates. It additionally opened bookings to creating international locations for extra inexpensive lodging at every day charges of as much as $220.
That remains to be above the “daily subsistence allowance” the UN provides some poorer nations to assist their participation at COPs. For Belem, the determine is $149.
Two UN diplomats confirmed Reuters quotes they’d acquired from lodges and property managers in Belem for charges of round $700 per particular person per evening throughout COP30.
Officials from six governments, together with wealthier European nations, informed Reuters they’d not but secured lodging due to excessive costs, and a few mentioned they had been making ready to cut back their participation.
A spokesperson for the Dutch authorities mentioned it could must halve its delegation in contrast with current COPs, when the Netherlands despatched round 90 individuals through the two-week occasion, together with envoys, negotiators and youth representatives.
Poland’s deputy climate minister Krzysztof Bolesta informed Reuters earlier this month: “We don’t have accommodation. We’ll probably have to cut down the delegation to the bone.”
“In an extreme event, maybe we will have to not show up,” he mentioned.
