The COP30 climate summit which took place in Belém (Brazil) was paralyzed by a fire. Around 2pm local time, organizers began evacuating thousands of attendees due to a fire that broke out in the pavilion area – very close to the Spanish offices – leaving a strong burning smell.
The origin of the fire is in the Indian pavilion, according to the government of the State of Pará, cited by the newspaper O globe. The Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, assured the press that the fire is under control: “The firefighters are here. There are no injuries. In a few minutes we will know what happened and what caused it. The important thing is that no one was injured.”
At this moment the firefighters are at work, opening the curtains and breaking them to let the smoke out. The troops are cooperating with United Nations police and Brazilian security forces. The structures are darkened. At the moment the causes are unknown and no injuries have been reported.
The thousands of summit participants remain outside the facilities awaiting a decision on whether they will be able to return. And a repeated complaint is that no kind of evacuation warning signal was given, but that it was the caregivers themselves who were alerted.
The fire occurred in the midst of negotiations to promote the creation of a roadmap to abandon oil, gas and coal, the main causes of climate change. Promoted by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the initiative is supported by around 80 countries, but is strongly opposed by other governments which makes its approval difficult.
