Alexander Van der Bellen stressed the importance of Belém as the conference’s headquarters, but said that “logistics costs” and “restricted budget” make travel unfeasible. City has been the scene of hosting price explosion.
Austria President Alexander Van der Bellen announced that he canceled his trip to COP30, which will take place in Belém, due to the high logistics costs to attend the event.
The organization of the event has been pressured by foreign delegations to solve the “exorbitant prices” charged to stay in the capital of Pará during the UN Climate Conference, scheduled for November.
According to a statement from its office, the federal budget “requires cutting cuts and discipline of all public agencies” and would be incompatible with the necessary values to send a delegation of negotiators to meet.
“The costs particularly high for logistical reasons for the participation of the federal president in this year’s COP, in addition to the Austrian delegation of negotiators, are not contemplated in the restricted budget of the Presidency,” said the statement issued by the Austrian public station Orf.
The Austrian Office, however, endorsed the defense of the Brazilian government that the capital of Pará has “great symbolic value”. “For the first time, the world conference on the climate will take place in the tropical forest region, whose destruction is an important factor in the global environmental and climate crisis,” he said.
Austria’s largest environmental protection organization, Global 2000, also decided not to attend the meeting.
Despite the absence of Van der Bellen, the European country will be represented by Austria’s Climate and Environmental Protection Minister Norbert Totschnig. “It’s more important than ever giving a clear sign of international cooperation in climatic protection,” the folder told Orf program, Zib2.
Austrian vehicles also point out that a four -lane highway that cuts the forest is being built to improve vehicle flow during the event. The Government of Pará states that the project is sustainable and had already been bid before Belém’s definition as the conference’s headquarters.
Work at Parque da Cidade, in Belém, where the COP30 meetings will take place. Countries press for headquarters change | Carlos Fabal/AFP
Brazil is pressured to find solutions
The shortage of accommodation in Belém, which had never hosted an event of this magnitude, has been a matter of concern as long as the city’s choice as a COP30 headquarters a year and a half ago.
The city is expected to receive about 50,000 participants from nearly 200 countries, but the organizers’ initial plan provided for a ceiling of 36,000 beds.
The scarcity, coupled with the lack of price control, has led some hotels and individuals who listed their hosts on hosting sites charging prices that exceed $ 30,000 and up to $ 297,000 over the eleven nights of the event.
Brazil was pressed to review its accommodation strategy for delegations that intend to visit the capital of Pará, at the risk of the event being emptied. Several countries complain about the prices charged for hotels and lodging.
In July, a group of African countries requested the organizers a change of headquarters that allows accommodation to all negotiators. The Brazilian government has announced that 98 developing countries will have a priority access to 3.9 thousand rooms available on two cruises during the conference, as well as the opening of accommodation in schools and public buildings, which was not enough to meet the demand.
The president of COP30, André Corrêa do Lago, acknowledged that there is a “feeling of revolt” by developing nations due to high costs, which threaten to make diversity unfeasible at the event.
Originally published by DW on 08/06/2025
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/08/06/presidente-da-austria-cancela-ida-a-cop30-devido-aos-custos/
