Austria President Alexander Van der Bellen canceled his participation in the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP30), scheduled to take place in November this year in Belém, the capital of Pará, Brazil, because of the high travel and lodging costs.
According to an official statement, the decision was motivated by the “budget discipline” required of the Austrian government.
“Logistic reasons make costs especially high for the president’s participation in this COP, as well as the Austrian delegation of negotiators, which is outside the presidency’s restricted budget,” the note reproduced by the local press.
The withdrawal of the Austrian president is not an isolated case. The high value of daily rates in hotels in the capital of Pará has caused widespread dissatisfaction among several foreign delegations. Since January, at least 25 countries have sent telegrams to the Brazilian government by questioning the prices considered abusive of lodging for the event. THE National newspaper Recently revealed that embassies from countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia and China have formalized complaints about values and availability.
Despite complaints about the management of the conference in the capital of Pará, the Extraordinary Secretariat of COP 30 has reinforced that “there is no possibility” of the event being transferred from Belém.
With the absence of the president, Austria will be represented in COP 30 Belém by Environment Minister Norbert Totschnig, who will lead the country’s delegation in discussions that will take place in the capital of Para.
