The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, assured this Thursday that the Portuguese team participating in the Climate Summit, COP30 in Belém, Brazil, “is all well.”
In an interview with SIC Notícias, the minister noted that “most of the team was inside the Portugal Pavilion” when the fire began.
“I smelled it,” said the minister, explaining that her background as an engineer allows her to handle such situations and she quickly realized what was happening.
“We saw some people starting to leave and promptly asked the team to leave everything behind, take only their passports, and move as far away from the site as possible. And that’s what we did. We ran and moved away,” recalled Maria da Graça Carvalho.
The fire, she added, “was very close to our pavilion, practically behind it,” but due to the team’s quick reaction, the Portuguese attendees were “among the first to leave the pavilion” – even before the alarm sounded.
“There weren’t any flames yet, just the smell. Then we started seeing images online with flames and smoke,” said the minister.
When questioned about the safety conditions of the event, Maria da Graça Carvalho acknowledged seeing “some electrical cables that in a permanent construction would have different protection.”
“There are some things that seem to be done in a makeshift way,” she added, clarifying, however, that the Portuguese delegation never felt unsafe. “I think it was an unfortunate incident,” she concluded.
The minister, speaking from her experience as an engineer, considered that the cause of the fire “could have been a short circuit,” but noted that “it’s always difficult to say.”
The Secretary of State for Fisheries and the Sea, Salvador Malheiro, who is accompanying the delegation to COP30, which includes the Minister of Environment and eight deputies, confirmed that the Portuguese delegation is “apparently” well.
“From the contacts I’ve made, apparently, people in the Portuguese delegation are all well,” informed the Secretary of State, adding that “the fire seems to have occurred in the blue zone, precisely where Portugal’s pavilion is located. But as far as I know, everything seems fine.”
The official also admitted that he was not with Maria da Graça Carvalho when the fire started. “But I exchanged a few messages with her a short while ago, and she’s fine, perfectly fine, and so is her delegation,” he assured in an interview with SIC Notícias.
“From everyone I’ve managed to contact, I’ve found that things are without any problem. But I must emphasize, it’s a completely initial situation, and I am very concerned,” he added.
When asked about what might have happened, Salvador Malheiro confessed he has “no idea,” stressing that he also does not want “to create any speculation.” The Secretary of State was participating in a series of events organized at the Portugal Pavilion, but left “minutes before” the fire broke out in the so-called blue zone.
The fire reportedly started around 2:00 p.m. local time, in the blue zone, where the country pavilions are situated at COP30 and where their representatives, including ministers, gather.
The area was evacuated as a precaution, and the power was also cut. Event security created a human cordon to mark the safety perimeter.
The 30th UN conference on climate change (COP30) has been taking place since November 10 and is scheduled to conclude on Friday.
A fire broke out this Thursday in one of the pavilions where the Climate Conference, COP30, is being held in Brazil, forcing the evacuation of the site. So far, there are no reports of injuries.
Carolina Pereira Soares | 17:20 – 20/11/2025
