Belem, Brazil: A major fire at the COP30 Climate Summit’s central facility on Thursday sent thousands of delegates fleeing for safety, injuring 21 people and forcing an hours-long shutdown of the conference’s main operations. The blaze erupted inside the high-security Blue Zone—the core area where negotiations, country pavilions, and media operations are housed.
Thick black smoke quickly enveloped the tented structure, prompting immediate evacuation orders. Panic briefly rippled through the crowd as participants rushed toward exit gates, though security personnel and firefighters restored order within minutes. Officials said the fire was contained in roughly six minutes.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health later confirmed that 21 individuals required medical attention—19 for smoke inhalation and two for anxiety-related symptoms. No burn injuries were reported. Twelve people had been discharged by evening, with the remaining under observation in Belem hospitals and dedicated emergency units.
Among those evacuated were UN Secretary-General António Guterres and India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, both of whom were inside the Blue Zone when the fire broke out. Their teams confirmed that all members of their delegations were safe.
Following a comprehensive safety review, the venue was reopened around 8:40 p.m. local time, though the heavily damaged pavilion sector—Zone B—will stay closed for the rest of the summit. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) informed attendees via email that the site has been cleared by the fire department and formally handed back to UN control.
All plenary sessions for the day were cancelled, raising concern over tight negotiating timelines with the conference scheduled to conclude on Friday. Crucial talks on climate finance, emissions cuts and adaptation measures remain unfinished. UNFCCC and the COP30 Presidency acknowledged the delay but urged delegates to return to discussions with “solidarity and determination.”
In an earlier joint update, organisers said firefighters and UN security teams acted “swiftly and efficiently,” guiding evacuees and preventing further escalation. A separate UNDSS flash report revealed that the blaze spread through decorative textile panels lining the structure before responders extinguished it. A headcount confirmed no missing personnel among UN staff.
The incident did not affect the Green Zone, where public exhibitions continued uninterrupted.
Heavy rains soon after the evacuation added to the chaos, leaving thousands of attendees outside with limited shelter. Despite the disruption, authorities said they expect negotiations to resume at full capacity on Friday, with live-streamed plenary sessions and unrestricted access to most of the campus.
Delegates from over 190 nations are attending COP30, held this year in Belem—gateway to the Amazon—where talks have centred on charting a unified global path to limiting climate change and protecting vulnerable ecosystems.
