Tens of thousands of Indigenous people and global climate activists marched through the centre of the city of Belem, where COP30 is taking place, chanting loudly. The organizers said 50,000 people joined the protest, the DPA reported.
With the "March for the Climate," demonstrators are fighting for climate justice and the defense of Indigenous communities' ancestral lands, which are threatened by loggers and illegal gold miners.
Several diplomats and ministers from countries that are negotiating at COP30 also joined the protest.
Unlike during previous climate conferences in authoritarian states like Azerbaijan, protests have been allowed to take place in the Amazonian city as the talks proceed.
Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva welcomed the broad participation in the march. She said protests were welcome in Brazil, which has a hard-won and consolidated democracy.
On Friday, dozens of Indigenous people and other climate activists blocked the main entrance to the conference for hours. On Tuesday evening, Indigenous activists stormed the entrance hall of the otherwise heavily secured tent city. They forcibly broke open doors and engaged in a scuffle with security forces.
At COP30, around 200 countries are still discussing until the end of next week how global warming can be curbed more quickly.
The focus is on a roadmap to move away from oil, gas and coal. In addition, there are demands from developing countries for financial aid to better adapt to the dire consequences such as more frequent and severe rainfall and droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and storms.
In parallel with the UN Climate Change Conference, the "People's Summit" is taking place at the university in Belem, with hundreds of organizations, movements and networks from Brazil and abroad.