Carrying traditional spears and signs calling for an end to the exploitation of the Amazon rainforest, dozens of Indigenous people blocked the main entrance to the COP30 climate summit on Friday morning.

Long queues formed as delegates were asked to enter through what is normally the venue’s exit to access the negotiations. The peaceful protest ended after several hours when COP30 bosses André Corrêa do Lago and Ana Toni joined the demonstrators to listen to their concerns.

Climate Home understands that COP30 President Corrêa do Lago invited the group of Indigenous people to a meeting with Brazilian environment minister Marina Silva this morning.

The protesters, belonging to the Munduruku tribe, demanded an end to development projects, including large-scale infrastructure and mining that affect the rights of Indigenous people living in the Valley of the Tapajós River in the Amazon, InfoAmazonia reported.

They carried signs displaying slogans like “fighting for our territories is fighting for our lives” alongside images showing the destruction of natural habitats.

While delegates waited in a long queue in Belém’s hot, humid weather, many remarked that it was refreshing to see a COP presidency engage directly with demonstrators. Over the past three summits – in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan – similar protests outside UN venues had been effectively banned.

“This is what happens when you finally host the talks in a democracy,” one said.

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During the sit-in, Brazilian army officers in riot gear formed a protective cordon in front of the venue’s main entrance. The COP30 hosts have stepped up security measures after a group of Indigenous protesters on Tuesday evening forced their way into the conference centre and clashed with security guards.

Brazil, the host nation of COP30, has stressed the importance of giving Indigenous people a voice in this year’s climate negotiations.

But Indigenous people are frustrated that more cannot access the negotiating area of the COP30 venue, known as the Blue Zone. According to analysis by InfoAmazonia, only 360 of 2,500 Indigenous Brazilians received accreditation for that space. The Brazilian government says that’s more than any previous COP – but it’s only a small fraction of the 56,000 people registered to attend this year’s UN climate talks.

Climate Home joined a flotilla of dozens of boats on Wednesday when hundreds of Indigenous people, many hailing from the Tapajós River region, sailed in the Amazon River delta to raise concerns about Brazil’s oil and gas, mining and agricultural expansion in their forests.

Gender talks hung up on definitions

Last year’s COP agreed on the extension of the Lima Work Programme on gender balance for 10 years and the development of a new Gender Action Plan, which was due to have two workshops before COP30 – one at the mid-year talks in Bonn and another one in September in Addis Ababa. With all that previous effort, negotiators expected a smooth start in Belém — but that wasn’t the case.

On Monday, the first day of the summit, Paraguay and Argentina raised their hands to argue that gender should be defined as “biological sex”, something activists said would backslide on human rights language the UN has been using.

Yet while the negotiations may have got hung up on definitions, also on Monday, 92 countries signed a Global Statement on Gender Equality and Climate Action. In it they committed to adopt a strong and inclusive gender plan “guided by an understanding of multidimensional factors, including clear priorities, and ensure meaningful and effective implementation over the next decade.”

“Multidimensional factors” is a way to refer to intersectionality – a term that denotes how social relations involve multiple forms of discrimination and also caused rows during COP29.

Catherine Pettengell, executive director of Climate Action Network UK, welcomed the statement’s reference to key issues faced by women and girls due to climate climate impacts – such as gender-based violence and disproportionate care work – as well as calls for them to be addressed. “This demonstrates an important commitment to address the structural barriers to equality that women and girls face,” she said.

An Indigenous woman attends the People’s Summit during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). (Photo by Rafa Pereira/COP30)

An Indigenous woman attends the People’s Summit during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). (Photo by Rafa Pereira/COP30)

Claudia Rubio Giraldo, from the Women’s Environment & Development Organization, said the statement champions a constructive spirit and the collaboration needed to reach a good agreement, something she described as especially important in the current political climate.

But she also said that without financing, the push for gender balance and women’s inclusion in climate action would fail. “You can’t develop a gender action plan that is not actionable because it doesn’t have the resources to be actionable,” she said.

Campaigners are not expecting a quantitative goal to be set, but rather to gain direct access to funding for women — and want gender to be addressed in the climate finance negotiations.

The current draft that is undergoing revision by governments has close to 30 activities, each one with around five deliverables, including inputs from civil society. Rubio told Climate Home News, “we don’t care if it’s long, as we have 10 years to work on this.”

The post COP30 Bulletin Day 5: Indigenous peoples blockade venue to defend territories appeared first on Climate Home News.

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