One European diplomat said their country had been quoted €1 million to rent rooms for a negotiating team of 20 people.
The April presentation from Brazil said that the cruise ship cabins would range from $700 to $1,300 per night. The diplomat said that in Bonn last week, however, the COP30 presidency promised that cabins would start at $250 and rooms in rental houses at $100 per night.
“But we don’t know how far those are from the venue and how many are available for this price,” the diplomat said. A promised booking platform was set to launch in March, but has been “postponed, postponed, postponed,” they added.
For low-income countries and civil society — as well as the media — the prohibitive costs risk becoming a barrier to attending this year’s COP.
“Accommodation is a big concern for us,” said Tanzanian diplomat Richard Muyungi, chair of the African Group of Negotiators. “I’ve not received any adequate response to our concerns” from the Brazilians, he added.
Costs aside, the optics of negotiators renting cruise ships to negotiate over the fate of the planet aren’t exactly great. “This image of cruise ships will just confirm the image we’re not saving the climate here, we’re killing it,” the European diplomat fretted.