Talks at the COP30 summit were disrupted after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation
\n New York
\nTalks at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil were disrupted on Thursday after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation just as negotiators were hunkering down to try to land a deal to strengthen international climate efforts.
\nUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had appealed earlier in the day for a deal from the summit in the Amazon city of Belem, welcoming calls from some for clarity on the hotly disputed subject of weaning the world off fossil fuels.
\nThere are fewer than 24 hours until the scheduled end of the summit to find a consensus among nearly 200 participating countries. Host nation Brazil has framed a deal as a crucial step towards ramping up international climate action and demonstrating that there is broad support to accelerate turning decades of promises and pledges from COP summits into action.
\nShortly after lunchtime, however, security footage showed flames breaking out at an exhibition pavilion and spreading rapidly up an internal fabric shell that lined the walls and ceiling of the building, before being extinguished.
\nThirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation at the venue, organizers said. The local fire service said it was probably caused by electrical equipment, likely a microwave, and was controlled within six minutes.
\nThousands of delegates were evacuated as security staff formed a human barrier across the hallway.
\nDrafting documents, deadlines missed
\nNegotiations were not expected to resume until Friday morning, a source told Reuters. Consultations between the presidency and negotiating blocs could continue on Thursday night, subject to safety assessments at the venue.
\nThe summit already missed a self-imposed Wednesday deadline to secure agreement among the countries present on issues including how to increase climate finance and shift away from fossil fuels.
\nBrazil circulated a draft proposal for part of the COP30 deal among some governments on Thursday, which did not include a roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels.
\nEmissions from burning fossil fuels trap heat in the Earth\u2019s atmosphere and are by far the biggest contributor to warming.
\nThe draft proposal, seen by Reuters, included other elements for a deal. It said countries would call to triple the financing available to help nations adapt to climate change by 2030, from 2025 levels. However, it did not specify whether this money would be provided directly by wealthy governments or other sources, including development banks or the private sector.
\nBrazil\u2019s COP30 presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the draft text.
\nSome negotiators said they had been working on the draft text shortly before the COP venue was evacuated due to the fire. Others said it had not been shared with them.
\nIt is common at COP summits for the presidency to thrash out a text with small groups of countries before bringing all governments together to greenlight the final deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talks at the COP30 summit were disrupted after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation New York Talks at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil were disrupted on Thursday after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation just as negotiators were hunkering down to try to land a deal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-515980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n