A week before the C.O.P.30 climate summit opened in Belém, Brazil, dozens of countries still had no accommodation secured for their delegations, according to Reuters. In response, the Brazilian government is offering free cabins aboard cruise ships docked in the Amazonian city to delegations from low-income nations in a last-minute effort to ensure they can attend. Around 50,000 participants are expected at C.O.P.30, but Belém has only about 18,000 hotel beds, sending nightly rates soaring to several hundred dollars. The accommodation shortage and price gouging have raised fears that many developing countries, which are often the most vulnerable to climate change, could again be left without a seat at the table.

Brazil’s C.O.P.30 president, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, has vowed that “all developing countries can be present” at the UN talks. He announced that free cabins will be allocated to delegations from African nations, small island developing states, and Least Developed Countries, roughly 96 nations in total (Reuters). According to Reuters, a leaked U.N. Climate Change (U.N.F.C.C.C.) email informed eligible governments that three cruise-ship cabins per country would be provided “free of cost to your delegation,” funded by private donors and a regional development bank. The offer is the result of emergency talks held by the U.N. Climate bureau after African and Pacific states warned in July that they could not afford Belém’s sky-high room rates, even with some subsidies. Brazil had previously chartered two cruise liners to add 6,000 beds at about $220 per night for developing countries, still above the U.N.’s daily travel stipend of $149 for those delegations, according to the Guardian. Corrêa do Lago said the extra support should guarantee every nation a voice at C.O.P.30, “with this, we will have significant support so that all developing countries can be present,” he noted. Even some richer delegations balked at prices above $500 a night, with Reuters reporting a few European countries considered skipping the summit over the expense.

Civil society activists from the Global South, however, caution that Brazil’s gesture, while welcome, doesn’t solve the broader inequalities plaguing international climate forums. Many grassroots campaigners had hoped a C.O.P. in Brazil, under a government championing climate action, would be more accessible, after recent summits in Egypt and the UAE, where dissent was tightly restricted. Instead, exorbitant lodging costs and limited funding have forced numerous NGOs and community leaders to stay home.  “Brazil has been a disappointment for a lot of us,” said Rachitaa Gupta, coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, which includes over 200 mostly Global South organizations, according to Climate Change News. Her network had planned major on-the-ground mobilizations in Belém, “but we have had to scale that down significantly” due to the cost barrier, she stated. Other activists note that while Brazil offered cheaper rooms to some official delegations, those deals did not extend to non-governmental observers, youth groups, or media. Many report struggling to secure any affordable place to stay. “The prices and conditions of accommodation drive out civil society from the Global South,” warned Mariano Villares, an Argentine climate advocate. When the voices of frontline communities are absent, “the climate conversation loses diversity” and overlooks those most affected by the crisis, he told Climate Home News.

Brazil’s move to offer free cabins is a positive step to prevent a completely lopsided summit. Yet, it also underscores the systemic change needed in global climate governance. It should not fall to a host country’s eleventh-hour generosity or charitable donations to ensure that the poorest nations can be present. Moving forward, structural reforms are crucial to level the playing field. This includes establishing dedicated funding and support mechanisms so that delegates and observers from the Global South can secure visas, travel, and lodging without Herculean effort. It means capping host city pricing and planning adequate low-cost accommodations from the outset, not as a panic measure. Most importantly, the U.N.F.C.C.C. process must prioritize inclusive representation: treating the presence of climate-vulnerable communities not as a burden or afterthought, but as foundational to legitimate decision-making. As C.O.P.30 convenes in the Amazon, the world should heed this wake-up call. Only by democratizing access and empowering marginalized voices can future climate summits deliver truly just and effective solutions. The fight for our planet’s future will only be won when those with the most at stake are positioned front and center, not left scrambling for a room.