A fire forced an evacuation at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, interrupting the annual U.N. climate talks as delegates scrambled out of a large inflatable conference tent. NPR’s Julia Simon, who was inside the press center, described hearing alarms, seeing smoke and smelling burning plastic. Organizers later said the blaze was contained and caused limited damage, but it paused negotiations and left many participants feeling frustrated and disappointed.
The talks had been focused on familiar but urgent issues: adapting to a warming world and securing the financing that makes adaptation possible. A central effort at this conference has been a push by more than 80 countries — including the U.K., Mexico and host Brazil — for a clear roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. Panama’s special climate representative Juan Carlos Monterrey said the main drivers of the crisis are fossil fuels and stressed the need for a phased exit from them.
This year’s COP is also notable because the United States did not send federal officials for the first time in the conference’s history. The absence comes amid an administration that has expanded support for fossil fuel production at home and abroad and at a time when the U.S. is the world’s largest oil and gas producer. Some delegates worried that U.S. officials could have blocked efforts to map a fossil-fuel phaseout; Vanuatu’s climate minister Ralph Regenvanu suggested the talks might face fewer “recalcitrants” without the U.S. present.
With Washington absent, countries such as China and host Brazil have moved into more visible leadership roles at the summit. In response to questions about the U.S. decision, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in an emailed statement that President Trump will not sacrifice the country’s economic and national security to pursue what the statement described as vague climate goals.