A fire forces the evacuation of the COP30 negotiations venue in Brazil

BarcelonaA fire broke out at the venue where the UN climate summit, COP30, in the Brazilian city of Belém, A fire forced the evacuation of the area where negotiations were taking place on Thursday. The flames spread in a section of the so-called Blue Zone, administered and controlled by the United Nations, where the meeting rooms and various pavilions of the countries and international organizations participating in the meeting are located. Security personnel quickly isolated the area of the fire and ordered the evacuation of the dozens of people present through the emergency exits, which generated tense moments, according to the EFE news agency. Brazil's Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, reported that the fire was brought under control in a matter of minutes and that no one was injured. He also said that the origin of the fire is still being investigated, but that everything points to it having been "probably a plugged-in cell phone." Some reports suggested it may have originated in the Indian pavilion, but this has not been confirmed.

"This is the second largest COP in history in terms of participation, with over 65,000 people [over the two weeks], and it has been a great success. [The fire] is something that could happen anywhere on the planet. There is no possibility of canceling the summit, which is a success. It would damage the prestige of the summit organized by the Brazilian government.

Security personnel explained that the fire originated in the pavilion area, where governments and organizations have their public-facing booths. Delegates, observers, and journalists who were on site grabbed some belongings and ran for the exits. However, many of those evacuated had to leave behind equipment and personal items, which they later tried to retrieve.

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Images recorded by people in the area show large flames spreading upwards and consuming part of the roof of the venue, a conference center located in a former airport building. The summit plenary session, scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 5:00 PM Brazilian time, was postponed due to the fire, although the organizers were expected to announce the new schedule soon. The summit is in its final stretch, just one day away from the official closing, although these meetings always extend for hours or days beyond the closing date in an attempt to reach a final consensus text.

A few hours before the fire, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had held a press conference in this Blue Zone where he had encouraged the negotiators to reach a "balanced" agreement.