The prices of the hotel rooms make the countries consider not to participate in the COP30 climatic sum. Dozens of states are still negotiating their accommodation
Image from the COP29 summit, held in 2024 in Baku, in Azerbaijan. Credit: Rafiq Maqboool / AP / Profimedia
Dozens of countries have not yet secured their accommodation for the COP30 climate issues next month in Brazil, and some of the delegates consider not to go, because the hotel deficit has taken prices to hundreds of dollars per night.
The small island states, which are in the first line when it comes to the problem of increasing the sea level, are forced to consider a decrease in the delegations they send to Belem, while two European nations have said that they are considering not participating at all.
COP30 organizers are in a hurry to turn motels, cruise ships and churches into accommodation units for the 45,000 delegates, the number of participants to be expected.
Brazil has chosen to organize discussions about climate in Belem, which usually has 18,000 available hotel beds, hoping that the location on the outskirts of the Amazon Forest will draw attention to the threat that the climatic changes for this ecosystem represents, as well as the role of the forest in absorption.
Latvia considers it too expensive
The Latvian minister for the climate said that he asked if the country's negotiators can participate in the event in the video conference system.
“Basically we already have a decision that it is too expensive for us,” said Kaspars Melnis. “It is the first time it is so expensive. We have a responsibility for the budget of our country,” the minister added.
A second European country, Lithuania, also from the Baltic region, said that they could not participate, after pricing for accommodation exceeding $ 500 per night for a person.
A spokesman from the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy, who also deals with the climate issues, said that the legitimacy and quality of the negotiations will suffer if governments cannot participate in discussions.
A spokesman for the Brazilian presidency of COP30 said the decision is about each government.
Prices of hundreds of dollars per night
A few days after Brazil opened a reservation platform in the first part of August, the website displayed rates between 360 and $ 4,400 per night. The prices of this week started at $ 150 per night, according to the platform.
The host country rejected the calls to move the summit and announced that it will offer 15 rooms with prices of less than $ 220 per day for the delegations of each country in progress, respectively less than 600 for delegations in the rich nations.
The United Nations (UN) also increased the subsidy to help low -income countries to participate.
81 countries still negotiate their accommodation
With less than six weeks left to Cop30, 81 countries are still in negotiations in terms of hotel rooms, while 87 countries have already reserved accommodation, according to the Brazilian presidency of COP30.
Evans Njewa, the president of the least developed country group (LDC), which represents the poorest nations in the UN discussions on the climate, said that they are still evaluating the participation plans of the countries in question.
“We receive a large volume of concerns … and numerous requests for support,” Njewa told Reuters. “Unfortunately, our ability is limited, which can affect the size of the delegations,” he added.
Ilana Seid, the president of the Alliance of small island states, said that the lack of affordable accommodation puts her members in a “severe disadvantage”. The small island countries have used the previous editions of the conference to obtain more funds to adapt to climatic changes.
The smaller delegations would leave the island nations “devoid of the necessary expertise to participate effectively in the negotiations that decide our future,” concluded Seid.
