A fire at the UN Climate Summit, COP30, in Belém, Brazil, temporarily disrupted ongoing negotiations on Thursday afternoon.
The blaze broke out at about 2:00 pm local time (6:00 pm Belgian time) near the pavilion area at the entrance of the Blue Zone, where the discussions were being held, and which is under the control of the UN.
Around 50,000 people were evacuated as firefighters quickly arrived and extinguished the flames within six minutes. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation, but no serious injuries were reported. The zone was expected to remain closed until at least 8:00 pm local time (midnight in Belgium), according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The incident occurred amid challenging negotiations focused on key issues such as increased funding for climate adaptation, boosting ambition for transitioning away from fossil fuels, unilateral trade measures, and a mechanism for a fair transition leaving no one behind.
The talks were already facing delays, with participants awaiting a new draft of the negotiation text concerning these critical topics.
The summit, officially scheduled to wrap up at 6:00 pm local time (10:00 pm in Belgium) on Friday, is unlikely to end on time - a rare occurrence, since the last time a climate summit ended on schedule was in 2003.
