Protesters force way into UN climate summit venue, clash with security

Dozens of Indigenous protesters forced their way into the Cop30 climate summit venue on Tuesday and clashed with security guards at the entrance to demand climate action and forest protection.

Shouting angrily, protesters demanded access to the UN compound where thousands of delegates from countries around the world are attending this year’s UN climate summit in the Amazon city of Belem, Brazil.

Some waved flags with slogans calling for land rights or carried signs saying: “Our land is not for sale”.

“We can’t eat money,” said Gilmar, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community near the lower reaches of the Tapajos River in Brazil, who uses only one name. “We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.”

Security guards pushed the protesters back and used tables to barricade the entrance. A Reuters witness saw one security guard being rushed away in a wheelchair while clutching his stomach.

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. Security confiscated several long, heavy sticks.