The flames erupted just as delegates were settling into afternoon sessions at the COP30 climate summit in Belém. What started as wisps of smoke from an electrical panel quickly escalated into a full evacuation of the Blue Zone—the secured area where official negotiations take place.
I watched as diplomats clutched briefcases and hastily abandoned coffee cups, filing out under the guidance of Brazilian security personnel. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone: a summit focused on our burning planet was itself temporarily halted by fire.
“We were discussing loss and damage funding when alarms started blaring,” said Mariama Konneh, a negotiator from Sierra Leone who I spoke with outside the venue. “One moment we’re talking about climate disasters, the next we’re experiencing an emergency ourselves.”
According to summit organizers, the fire began in an electrical distribution panel near the media center around 2:30 pm local time. Brazilian firefighters responded within minutes, containing the blaze before it could spread through the repurposed warehouse facility that houses much of the summit infrastructure.
This year’s COP30 has already faced logistical challenges. Belém, a city of 1.5 million in the Amazon region, was selected as host to highlight the importance of rainforest preservation. Yet many participants have struggled with limited accommodations and transportation delays that have complicated an already compressed negotiation schedule.
“This is the reality of climate diplomacy now,” explained Dr. Helena Santos of Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. “We’re trying to solve global warming while experiencing its effects. Extreme heat is stressing infrastructure everywhere, including here.”
Indeed, Belém has been experiencing temperatures 2°C above historical averages during the summit, according to data from Brazil’s National Meteorological Institute. This follows a summer that saw the Amazon region suffer its worst drought in decades, with river levels dropping to historic lows.
After a two-hour delay and safety inspection, delegates were allowed to return to most buildings. The affected area remained cordoned off, with technical teams assessing damage to communications equipment.
For Indigenous participants like Txai Suruí, who traveled four days from her community in Rondônia state to attend the summit, the disruption was concerning but not surprising.
“In my territory, we live with fire threats constantly,” she told me as we sheltered under a tent during the evacuation. “The difference is that here, people have somewhere safe to go. When fires come to our forests, animals die, medicines disappear, and our entire way of life is threatened.”
The incident occurred just as negotiators were entering critical discussions on implementing the Global South Climate Finance Pact, a central focus of this year’s summit. The pact aims to mobilize $300 billion annually by 2030 to help developing nations transition to clean energy and adapt to climate impacts.
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell addressed reporters once proceedings resumed. “Today’s disruption is minor compared to what communities worldwide are experiencing,” he said. “It only reinforces the urgency of our work.”
The Brazilian presidency of COP30 announced that scheduled sessions would be extended into the evening to make up for lost time. With only three days remaining in the summit, pressure is mounting to finalize agreements that have remained elusive since the Paris Agreement was signed nearly a decade ago.
For veteran climate diplomat Ambassador Carlos Moreno of Mexico, the incident carries symbolic weight. “Climate negotiations have always been about putting out fires, both literal and figurative,” he reflected as we walked back toward the venue. “Today just makes that reality more visible.”
The fire at COP30 comes amid a year of climate extremes globally. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, surpassing 2023’s previous high. Heat-related infrastructure failures have increased worldwide, from buckling railways in Europe to overloaded power grids causing blackouts across South Asia.
As night fell in Belém, the glow of laptop screens once again filled the negotiation rooms. The smell of smoke had dissipated, but its message lingered: the climate crisis isn’t waiting for perfect diplomatic conditions.
