In one of the pavilions at the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil, on Thursday a fire broke out. The entire conference venue was evacuated. The fire has since been extinguished. No injuries are reported from the scene. TASR writes about it according to AFP and AP agencies. The fire broke out in the Chinese pavilion, one of many for the presentation of the ecological projects of the conference participants. The fire quickly spread to other pavilions. The cause of the fire is unknownbut according to assumptions, it could have been caused by an electrical short.
All events within the conference were cancelled, according to assumptions, its program could continue at 20:00 local time (00:00 CET). Joao Paulo Capobianco from the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment announced, that the fire did not cause serious damage and that the electrical network is back in operation.
The fire broke out at a time when in Belém negotiations on a new climate agreement are at their peak. Delegates still need to bridge wide gaps in the financial commitments of developed countries, unilateral trade measures and the phase-out of fossil fuels. The end of the conference is scheduled for Friday, added AFP. “The fire will certainly slow down the negotiations as we are at a crucial juncture where we have to decide on the process that started last week,” Windyo Laksono, a member of the Indonesian delegation, told AFP.
