The COP30 climate summit, held under the auspices of the United Nations, faced an unexpected setback on Thursday due to a fire that led to the evacuation of multiple buildings, interrupting the proceedings before any significant agreements could be reached.
Fortunately, officials reported that there were no injuries from the incident. The fire broke out in the section of the conference dedicated to sideline events, an area bustling with activity during the talks.
Organizers swiftly informed attendees that the fire was under control. However, fire officials insisted on a full evacuation of the premises to conduct comprehensive safety checks, leaving the timeline for the resumption of the conference uncertain.
Just hours prior to the fire, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had called on nations to embrace compromise, urging for ‘willingness and flexibility to deliver results,’ even if these outcomes don’t meet the most ambitious expectations of some countries.
“We are down to the wire and the world is watching Belem,” Guterres remarked, encouraging negotiators to engage sincerely as the talks entered their final two days. The conference had already surpassed its self-imposed deadline on Wednesday without resolving several key issues.
It is not uncommon for the conference to extend beyond its planned two-week duration.
‘Communities on the front lines are watching, too – counting flooded homes, failed harvests, lost livelihoods – and asking, “how much more must we suffer?”‘ Guterres said. ‘They’ve heard enough excuses and demand results.’
On contentious issues involving more detailed plans to phase out fossil fuels and financial aid to poorer countries, Guterres said he was ‘perfectly convinced’ that compromise was possible and dismissed the idea that not adopting the strongest measures would be a failure.
A fire broke out in the Blue Zone pavilion during COP30 in Brazil
The fire, which officials have said have so far not hurt anyone, tore through an area of pavilions where sideline events are held during the talks
Asked whether he had a message for US President Donald Trump, who has pulled the world’s second-largest carbon polluter out of climate talks: ‘We are waiting for you.’
When asked if there was any hope that Trump would change his tune on climate change, Guterres smiled and said: ‘Hope is the last thing that dies.’
At a UN session in September, Trump called predictions of climate change a ‘ con job.’ The US federal government is absent from the negotiations in Belem on the edge of the Amazon.
Guterres was more forceful in what he wanted rich countries to do for poor countries, especially those in need of tens of billions of dollars to adapt to the floods, droughts, storms and heat waves triggered by worsening climate change. He continued calls to triple adaptation finance from £30.6billion a year to £91.7billion a year.
Officials from nations battered by natural disasters gave emotional testimony earlier this week imploring the world to stop talking and start acting.
‘No delegation will leave Belem with everything it wants, but every delegation has a duty to reach a balanced deal,’ Guterres said.
‘Every country, especially the big emitters, must do more,’ Guterres said.
Delivering overall financial aid – with an agreed goal of £2290.4billion a year – is one of four interconnected issues that were initially excluded from the official agenda. The other three are: whether countries should be told to toughen their new climate plans; dealing with trade barriers over climate and improving reporting on transparency and climate progress.
Fire disrupted the United Nations COP30 climate talks on Thursday
Organisers quickly announced that the fire was under control, but fire officials ordered the entire site evacuated for safety checks
COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago had given negotiators a Wednesday deadline for some kind of package on those four issues, but no deal was in sight.
More than 80 countries have pushed for a detailed ‘road map’ on how to transition away from fossil fuels, like coal, oil and natural gas, which are the chief cause of warming. That was a general but vague agreement two years ago at the COP in Dubai.
Guterres kept referring to it as already being agreed to in Dubai, but did not commit to a detailed plan, which Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushed for earlier in a speech.
