Accommodation costs at climate summit in Belem are pricing out some developing countries and media outlets
The United Nations has urged its staff to limit attendance at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil in November due to high accommodation prices, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
The move comes as delegations grow increasingly concerned about the cost of accommodation in the coastal Amazon city of Belem hosting Cop30. Brazil said it was working to increase the number of available hotel beds, but soaring prices for accommodation have stoked calls from some governments to relocate the conference, which Brazilian officials have rejected.
“In view of the capacity constraints in Belem, I would like to kindly request that heads of the United Nations system, specialized agencies and other relevant organizations review the size of their delegations at Cop30 and reduce numbers where possible,” the UN climate secretariat’s executive secretary, Simon Stiell, said in a document published on the UN website.
In a statement, Brazil’s Cop30 presidency said it had reaffirmed its commitment to securing 15 single rooms for poorer countries at reduced rates.
