People power took over COP30: Tens of thousands marched for climate justice in Belém and across Europe

15 November, Belém/Brussels — Today, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Belém, Brazil, during COP30 as part of the Global Days of Action, demanding climate justice and protection of the Indigenous rights. The European climate movements stood shoulder to shoulder with Belém and marches across the world, demanding a just, inclusive, and community-led transition away from fossil fuels and mobilised citizens in more than 70 European cities across 15 European countries. The actions were part of a growing international wave of solidarity with the People’s Summit (Cúpula dos Povos), a powerful convergence of people-led movements in Belém that amplifies frontline voices and promotes a vision for people-centred systemic change. Joining the march in Belém, Javier Andaluz, Head of Climate and Energy at Ecologistas en Acción (Spain), said:

“Ten years since the Paris Agreement, we are still far from meeting the targets required by science, and our emissions continue to rise. In the face of this political inaction, we are taking to the streets once again to demand a just, urgent, and immediate transition. It is essential to establish a roadmap for ending fossil fuels and ensure the finance and support for a just transformation, leaving no one behind.”

Leïla Réau, Project Manager at Swiss Youth for Climate, said:

“Whether it be Madrid, Prague, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Rome or Zurich, we are uniting across Europe to say that the same system fueling war, inequality and climate breakdown is the one destroying our democracies. We draw the line against destruction and for a future built on solidarity, care, and justice.”

The COP30 climate march was the first since COP26, as in the past few COPs, actions outside the official venue were restricted. Today’s march in Belém was led by Indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, fisherfolk, youth and workers, joined by local and international civil society organisations. Pedro Moura, Senior Environmental Officer at Quercus (Portugal), said

“We stand with the peoples of the Amazon and communities worldwide resisting exploitation. We want to show that people, not profits, will shape the future. We demand safeguards to guarantee human rights in the Global South and push for the polluters to pay for the damage they cause.”

Monday will mark the start of the second half of the COP30 climate conference. CAN Europe demands that world leaders deliver the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) for global just transition, agree on a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, and scale up climate finance, particularly for adaptation. ENDS Notes to the editors

Photos available from the mobilisations are here
The marches in Europe were in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and UK. Find the list of all the action across the world here.
CAN Europe’s COP30 Mid-Point Review

For further comments and interviews:

Jani Savolainen, jani.savolainen@caneurope.org / +358 504 66 78 31
Tomas Spragg Nilsson, tomas.spraggnilsson@caneurope.org / +46 707 65 63 92