Tens of Thousands Join Indigenous-Led Protest at COP30 Demanding Urgent Action

"To kick off our week of coverage from the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, we play video of a major protest that took place Saturday, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the host city Belém to demand urgent climate action. The Indigenous-led action was the first major climate protest at a United Nations climate conference since 2021; protests were banned by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, the three previous host countries. Demonstrators denounced corporate greed, war and imperialism,"

"AMY GOODMAN: We're broadcasting from the U.N. climate summit - that's COP30 - from the Brazilian city of Belém. It's the gateway to the Amazon. Leaders and delegates from more than 190 countries have entered a second week of negotiations. On Saturday, Democracy Now! was in the streets of Belém as tens of thousands of protesters gathered demanding urgent climate action."

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Belém during COP30, led by Indigenous peoples demanding urgent climate action, reductions in fossil fuel use, and respect for Indigenous sovereignty. Demonstrators denounced corporate greed, war, and imperialism as drivers of climate injustice. The Great People's March was the first major climate protest at a U.N. climate summit since 2021 after previous hosts banned public demonstrations. Leaders and delegates from over 190 countries continued negotiations while grassroots assemblies and gatherings from more than 60 countries organized parallel spaces, asserting frontline solutions and Indigenous leadership as essential to climate policy.

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