Marching to the beat of pounding sound systems, thousands of climate protesters have been bringing their message to the gates of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
Chanting and singing 'free the Amazon', demonstrators in host city Belém have been carrying three giant coffins reading Oil, Coal, and Gas flanked by two grim reapers.
Indigenous groups displayed signs reading 'the answer is us' as an inflatable elephant and anaconda weaved through the crowd under the hot sun.
It is the first time since 2021 that protesters have been allowed to demonstrate outside the UN climate talks. The last three took place in countries that do not permit public protest.
Fossil fuels are still being burned. We know all too well what it's like to live on the frontline of climate change, stated Brianna Fruean, a climate activist from Samoa, a low-lying island extremely vulnerable to climate change.
We are here after so many COPS, marching for justice, for the end of fossil fuels, adds Ilan from the non-governmental organization 350 in Brazil.
Indigenous communities, Brazilian youth groups, and activists participated in the march in large numbers. Signs reading 'demarcation now' were carried, calling for indigenous groups to gain legal ownership of their territories, regarded as essential stewards of biodiversity and forests.
Protests have also emerged globally, including in the UK.
This follows an earlier incident where protesters broke through security lines at the summit on Tuesday, leading to minor injuries among security personnel.
While negotiations continued at COP30, with nearly 200 countries aiming for consensus on strategies against climate change, there remains a palpable frustration among activists over past unfulfilled promises regarding fossil fuel reliance. President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, hosting the talks, has chosen Belém as a focal point for Amazon and indigenous issues, despite granting permission for oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon just before COP30 began.
