Deplorable conditions surround upscale UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil

Sheila Gunn Reid discusses the stark contrast between the luxurious accommodations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil, and the surrounding area where the majority of locals are living in poverty.

RebelNews+ Clips
  |   November 18, 2025   |   News Analysis   |   2 Comments

On last night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Sheila Gunn Reid checked in from Belem, Brazil, where thousands of climate change activists from around the world are gathering at the United Nations' 30th Climate Change Conference.

Sheila pointed out the unmissable contrast between the thousands of wealthy activists and public figures descending on Belem to discuss greenhouse gas emissions and the local communities being forced to live in squalor.

"Just walking around the city, frankly it angers me. Because I see the sheer amount of money spent on this conference and beautifying parts of the city to obscure what's really happening here," she said.

"It's a mirage. It angers me — and I realize I'm going to sound like a bleeding heart socialist, but I'm definitely not — but the sheer amount of money spent on this conference where the world's environmentalists circumnavigate the globe to take a selfie at a conference while the people around them are really suffering with abject poverty and a government that's failing them, it angers me," Sheila continued.

"Four percent of the waste water in this city is treated. Only 20% of the houses are even hooked up to sewage. These streets, when it rains here, and it rains a lot here, they run brown with turds. And nobody should have to live that way when they're spending money on environmentalist conferences," she added.

Sheila also discussed how members of the mainstream media who are supposedly 'reporting' from the conference are actually just parroting messages from climate change activists and not challenging any attendees.

"As far as the Canadian journalists, they're just repeaters, and they're sitting in the comfort of the air conditioning in the UN complex while we're outside telling the real story of the city around us," she said.

The UN Climate Change Conference has also been criticized after it was reportedly used as justification for the Brazilian government to construct a new highway through the rainforest.

Please donate to support our independent journalism at the United Nations!

Latest News

The UN’s massive climate summit in Belém, Brazil has wrapped — and while nearly everyone there was on a government or lobbyist expense account, our reporting was funded entirely by viewers like you.

Because of your support, Sheila Gunn Reid and Kian Simone uncovered what the UN tried to hide: luxury cruise ships, diesel-fuelled motorcades, a secret highway carved through the Amazon, sewage-filled “revitalization” projects, and even UN conference waste dumped in a poor neighbourhood.

The mission is complete, but the costs remain. Flights were just under $5,000, accommodation $2,500, plus transport, mobile data and local help — a total of $8,500–$9,000.

If you value this kind of on-the-ground reporting the mainstream won’t do, please chip in to help us cover the remaining costs of the trip.

Amount
$
Donation frequency
DONATE

RebelNews+ Clips

RebelNews+ is our premium subscription service, which gives you access to our exclusive long form, TV-style shows, documentaries, members-only comments section, and the ability to read RebelNews.com without ads.

Subscribe now to get the full experience! 

https://rebelnewsplus.com/

Featured Stories

COMMENTS

Showing 2 Comments

Please check your e-mail for a link to activate your account.
  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2025-11-18 21:06:59 -0500
    The conference is the epitome of the phrase “if you got it, flaunt it”.
  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-11-18 19:25:47 -0500
    Actions and inactions do speak louder than words. These ultra-rich people have zero compassion for the poor. Power is their god and damnation is their eternal future.