An early afternoon fire in Belém forced the evacuation of the Cop30 pavilions, stalling the negotiating machinery of the U.N. climate summit for several hours. The flames started in an area behind Pavilion B, at a point where electrical facilities and service plants are concentrated, and quickly spread among modules in the Blue Zone, the part reserved for government delegations. Smoke invaded the corridors necessitating the immediate evacuation of thousands of people, from negotiators to technicians to journalists.
Firefighters responded within minutes and contained the blaze, while conference security closed all access to the area. According to initial reports in Brazilian and international media, there were no serious injuries. Some people were assisted for smoke inhalation or anxiety attacks, but no one is in a worrisome condition. The cause would appear to be an electrical fault: a short circuit or malfunction of the temporary lighting systems. These are rapidly assembled structures that had shown some criticality on several occasions in the past few days, mainly due to water infiltration and overloading of the systems.
The fire broke out on an already delicate day, with several technical tables busy filing texts on climate finance, fossil fuels and adaptation mechanisms. The forced blackout interrupted sessions considered crucial and dispersed working groups for hours, which only resumed work in the evening after the halls were secured. Delegations were phased back in as UN technicians checked facilities and wiring to avoid further problems.
Among the pavilions close to the affected area was the Italian one. No members of the delegation suffered any consequences, but public works and scheduled meetings were skipped, with the risk of having to compress already packed appointments in the coming hours.
In Belém, where negotiators’ attention is focused on the fossil fuel phase-out and new funds for vulnerable countries, the halt came as a heavy setback. However, there has been no security scare over the continuation of the conference: organizers confirm that Cop30 continues as normal and that the reopened pavilions are fully operational.
So the day ended with a good deal of tension disposed of and an open question about the quality of the infrastructure assembled to accommodate tens of thousands of people. But mostly with the unknown about the timing of the negotiations: the timetable was already tight, and a few hours burned – this time in a literal sense – does not help in forging agreements that remain difficult.
