Indigenous protesters invade COP30 to demand "a climate tax for billionaires"

BarcelonaA group of protesters, many of them indigenous, invaded the restricted area of the convention center on Tuesday night (early morning in Catalonia) where the Brazil hosts the UN climate summit, COP30. for demanding a "tax on billionaires" to finance the fight against the climate crisis. Climate activists managed to breach the security checkpoints at the entrance to Parque da Cidade, which had been closed for the past few weeks for use as a summit venue, and entered the lobby of the large tent managed by the UN, where they clashed with police, who formed a cordon to prevent them from proceeding. Clashes and scenes of chaos ensued until the protesters were finally expelled.

The incursion of the climate activists forced the suspension of all activities taking place at that time in this so-called "blue zone" of COP30. According to Brazilian media, at least one police officer was injured in the clashes. Brazilian police have announced that they will reinforce security measures to prevent a similar incursion from happening again.

Many of the protesters wore indigenous clothing, and others wore T-shirts of PSOL, the Socialism and Liberty Party, a radical left-wing party that split from Lula da Silva's Workers' Party in 2004. In fact, among the shouts of c) that it is opening oil fields in the Amazon despite their promises to fight the climate crisisThe protesters accuse him of engaging in a "sham" with his attempt to lead the global climate fight and of "destroying the climate" with his oil operations.

A climate NGO, 350.org, which had recently organized the March for Health and Climate to denounce that "the climate crisis is a health crisis," has sought to completely distance itself from the attack on the COP30 building. "The actions that took place after the march were not part of the organization of the event, which addressed health and climate. The march, which concluded earlier at the COP30 headquarters, was a legitimate, peaceful, and organized expression of popular mobilization, built through dialogue, responsibility, and collective commitment," the organization, which is participating as an observer in the climate negotiations of the governments meeting in Brazil, stated in a press release.