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The UN climate talks in Belém were disrupted on Thursday after a major fire broke out in the pavilion area of the COP30 venue, forcing evacuations and leaving 13 people treated for smoke inhalation.

The blaze, believed to have been sparked by electrical equipment, swept through several country pavilions — including those near the China and Africa zones — before being contained within minutes.

The incident came at a critical moment, with Brazil racing to broker a deal among nearly 190 nations on how to transition away from fossil fuels.

Delegates described scenes of confusion and panic as emergency crews rushed in. "It's so sad for us," said volunteer Gabi Andrade. "We all worked so hard."

Negotiators returned to the venue later in the evening, but tensions rose further after a new draft deal removed all references to phasing out fossil fuels.

This issue, along with financing, has been among the most contentious at UN climate talks in recent years.

The proposal will be debated over the next two days before consensus can be reached among the 190 countries for this year's agreement.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the tense negotiations, Australia and Turkey broke the deadlock over the host of next year's summit, with Antalya chosen as the site and Australia's climate minister, Chris Bowen, set to preside over the negotiations.

Stay tuned for updates as the talks continue.

Flames spread through pavilions being used for the conference in Belem on Thursday (AFP/Getty)

A fight for survival – the reality of life in the Amazon in the shadow of Cop30

By Nick Ferris

Starmer says mountain of waste dumped in Oxfordshire field is 'utterly appalling'

By Holly Evans

Video: Anger grows as Delhi's residents take to streets over toxic air: 'People have woken up'

By Stuti Mishra

Cop30 must reads

For all the talk of COP30 – the international UN climate conference — being held in the Amazon, the reality for most of the 1.4 million people living in the Brazilian city of Belém is a far cry from the lush, green tropical forests that many would imagine.

In this dispatch, my colleague Nick Ferris explores what the climate summit means for residents, many of whom live in the 40 per cent of the city that lies below sea level, as coastal erosion and extreme weather continue to pose a growing threat.

Read more

With COP30 now entering its final stretch in Brazil, many observers have expressed disappointment at the UK's seemingly lacklustre performance at the world's most important climate conference.

"The UK is being tight-lipped at this COP on anything related to financial obligations, because of domestic concerns with the Budget in 10 days' time," said Debbie Hillier, who is following the climate adaptation negotiations for the NGO Mercy Corps.

Read more

CLIMATE IN NUMBERS

1602

That's how many  fossil fuel lobbyists have been accredited to attend the UN's Cop30 climate summit in Brazil.

Read more

The Independent has launched a project to investigate the impact of foreign aid cuts on the developing world. The project receives funding from the Gates Foundation. All of the journalism is editorially independent.

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African HIV services face double blow of cuts from both Trump and UK

By Rachel Schraer

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