Chaos broke at the COP30 climate doomer conference on Tuesday night after dozens of Brazilian indigenous protesters stormed the premises demanding “climate action” and forest protection.
G1 detailed the incident took place at around 07:20 p.m. (local time) right after a press conference presenting the day’s results at the ongoing climate change event’s venue in the Brazilian city of Belém, Pará.
The protesters blocked the exit of the venue’s “Blue Zone,” a restricted area reserved for State Ministers, diplomats, negotiators, and other authorities from participating nations.
The protesters breached through the pavilion doors and attempted to advance toward the restricted area, where they were stopped by the event’s security, leading to clashes. U.N. security personnel reportedly formed human chains and even used wooden tables to prevent protesters from advancing.
Footage of the protests show one of the injured guards being rushed away in a wheelchair while clutching his stomach. Another injured guard with a cut above his eye told Reuters he had been hit in the head by a “heavy drumstick thrown from the crowd.” Security officials reportedly confiscated several long, heavy sticks from the protesters.
A United Nations spokesperson for Climate Change told G1 that both Brazilian and U.N. security teams followed all established protocols and successfully contained the situation.
“The venue is completely secure, and conference negotiations are continuing as normal,” the spokesperson reportedly said. “The incident caused minor injuries to two security guards and minor damage to the venue’s structure.”
“The group that went to the Blue Zone after the march ended was not part of the official organization or coordination of the event, having participated independently,” the U.N. said in a statement shared with local outlets, asserting that the crowd’s plan was “to draw attention to the impacts of climate change on public health and the urgent need for policies that protect both people and the planet.”
G1 further reported the protesters were removed from the premises, allowing participants to safely leave the pavilion. Security was reinforced at COP30 with the deployment of Brazilian Military police vehicles. The outlet pointed out there is no information on detainees following the incident.
“The U.N. has all its security protocols. (…) We make peaceful coexistence agreements with the movements, and they [U.N. security] are here to ensure security,” Brazil’s Extraordinary Secretary for COP30 Valter Correia told G1.
The Brazilian outlet Metrópoles detailed that the protesters participated in the “Global Health and Climate March,” a rally that covered roughly 1.5 kilometers of Belém’s streets towards the COP30 venue. According to the march’s organizers, the group that tried to enter the Blue Zone was not part of the official organization and “acted independently.”
The Brazilian government has not publicly commented on the incident at press time.