Crowds march on doorstep of UN climate talks in Brazil

Thousands of climate protesters march to the beat of powerful sound systems, carrying their message to the doors of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.

Protesters in the host city of Belem, chanting and singing “Free the Amazon,” carried three giant coffins labeled “Oil, Coal and Gas,” flanked by two harvesting machines.

Indigenous groups displayed banners reading “The answer is us” while an inflatable elephant and anaconda weaved through the crowd under the blazing sun.

This is the first time since 2021 that protesters have been allowed to demonstrate outside UN climate talks. The last three incidents occurred in countries that do not allow public protest.

“Fossil fuels are still being burned. We know all too well what it’s like to live on the front lines of climate change,” Brianna Fruin, a climate activist from Samoa, a low-lying island highly vulnerable to climate change, told the BBC.

“We are here after so many COPS, marching for justice, for the end of fossil fuels,” said Ilan, from the NGO 350, who lives in Brazil.

Indigenous communities, Brazilian youth groups and activists joined the march in their thousands.

Some carried signs reading “Demarcate Boundaries Now,” calling for indigenous groups to be given legal ownership of their lands.

Hundreds of indigenous groups live in the Amazon region, and experts consider them the best protectors of biodiversity and forests.

Smaller sister protests took place around the world including the UK.

And yet comes Protesters carrying banners breached security lines at the summit on TuesdayThe accident caused minor injuries to two security personnel and some limited damage to the place.

Meanwhile, north of Belem, negotiations continued at the COP30 talks on Saturday. Nearly 200 countries are coming together to try to make progress on tackling climate change.

Little progress has been made in the first week of talks, although some delegations say they are pushing for an agreed strategy to deliver on previous promises to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels.

Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva is hosting the talks, and he chose the city of Belem to focus world attention on the Amazon region and its indigenous people.

But shortly before the talks opened last week, his government announced Granting permission to the Brazilian state oil company to explore for oil At the mouth of the Amazon.