Food & Climate
Dozens of Indigenous protesters briefly forced their way into the COP30 climate summit venue in Brazil.
Dozens of Indigenous protesters and other climate activists on Tuesday evening forced their way into the main venue of the UN climate summit being held in Brazil.
They then scuffled with security officers inside the compound where thousands of delegates from countries around the world are attending this year’s COP30 climate summit in the Amazon city of Belem.
Some of the protesters waved flags and chanted, while others held slogans calling for land rights or carried signs saying, “Our land is not for sale”, according many reports seen by “Food & Climate” platform.
“We can’t eat money,” said Gilmar, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community near the lower reaches of the Tapajos River in Brazil, told Reuters news agency.
“We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers,” said Gilmar, who only uses one name.
Agustin Ocana, mobilization coordinator for youth with the Global Youth Coalition, told The Associated Press news agency that some of the group were chanting, “They cannot decide for us without us.”
Another guard with a fresh cut above his eye told Reuters he had been hit in the head by a heavy drumstick thrown from the crowd.
Ocanasaid he saw protesters and security hitting each other with small plastic bins. One guard was bleeding from being hit in the head, he said.
Security confiscated several long, heavy sticks at COP30
The incident caused minor injuries to two security staff and minor damage to the venue, a UN Climate Change spokesperson said.
And Security confiscated several long, heavy sticks at COP30.
The confrontation came late in the day as people were filtering out of the venue for COP30.
Social media videos showed protesters that appeared to be from indigenous groups and others waving flags with the logo of a left-wing Brazilian youth movement called Juntos.
Demonstrators crossed the first security barriers of the venue and were then prevented from getting further in, the UN told the BBC.
It is a highly unusual security breach at a conference that has strict protocols.
Brazilian and UN authorities are investigating the incident, according to the UN.
UN police officers were asking those still inside the venue to evacuate the vast site of giant air-conditioned tents.
Security within the conference grounds lies with UN police, while local authorities take charge of the surrounding area.
Access points to the venue were closed and heavily guarded by security forces, according to “D W”.
Indigenous communities demanding more say in forest management
Earlier on Tuesday, prominent Indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire told Reuters that many from the Indigenous communities were upset with infrastructure projects in the forest.
The leader of Brazil’s Indigenous Kayapo people, Raoni Metuktire has been fighting to protect his homeland in the Amazon for decades.
He warned that proposed highways, rail projects and oil wells would harm people across the world.
“These projects destroy rivers and lands and they are continuing to do it. …. It will be very bad for us. And for you too. You are bringing the consequences upon yourselves,” he said.
Delegates from almost 200 countries are attending COP30 talks, which officially runs from Monday 10 November to Friday 21 November.
This year’s gathering takes place ten years after the Paris climate agreement, in which countries pledged to try to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.
It is the first time the conference is being held in Brazil, with the talks taking place in Belém on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.
The location has proved a controversial decision for a number of reasons, in part due to the Amazon’s residents, many of whom are vocal critics of the environmental damage caused to their home by climate change and deforestation.
Brazil has also continued to grant new licences for oil and gas which, alongside coal, are fossil fuels, the main cause of global warming.