Fire erupts at COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, disrupting final hours of negotiations

Source: BBC

The crucial UN climate talks, COP30, faced sudden disruption on Thursday as a fire broke out inside the venue in Belém, Brazil, forcing a widespread evacuation and potentially delaying the summit’s closing agreement.

BBC journalists on the scene reported seeing flames and smoke in the pavilion area before being rushed outside. Fire engines were seen racing toward the site, a former aerodrome now serving as the conference centre.

The fire appears to have originated in one of the summit’s country pavilions, according to reports.

“It was climbing the walls and onto the ceiling. People were screaming,” Dr. Harshita Umesh, who was giving a talk nearby, told BBC News. “Then I ran, I think I tripped and fell.”

Medical personnel responded immediately to the scene. Emergency medicine specialist Kimberly Humphrey, working at the COP medical centre, reported that the injuries are “Mainly people with smoke inhalation, someone with a lung injury from smoke.”

Dr. Umesh, a medical doctor herself, said ambulance staff confirmed no one sustained burn injuries, but some first responders inhaled “toxic fumes” and required oxygen masks. A woman was also seen being taken away in a wheelchair, though it is unclear if this was directly related to the fire.

The incident comes in the final, critical hours of the summit, where nearly 200 countries are attempting to agree on the next steps to tackle climate change.

The fire has effectively halted negotiations. A member of the UK delegation told the BBC that several country delegations were forced to take shelter outside under the roof of a nearby petrol station.

Hundreds of people were left sitting outside in the high temperatures and humidity following the evacuation, while others chose to leave the COP venue entirely.

The UN, which runs the climate meetings, confirmed that the fire brigade is currently checking the venue to assess safety. The summit has been temporarily taken over by Brazilian authorities. The fire is widely expected to delay the closing of a deal for COP30.