Fire breaks out at COP30 summit venue in Brazil's Belem, evacuation ordered | Video

The fire erupted when global ministers were deeply engrossed in negotiations to break a deadlock over fossil fuels, climate finance and trade measures.

A fire broke out at the venue for the COP30 summit in Brazil's Belem on Thursday, prompting evacuation from parts of the site as panicked delegates ran for the exits.

Smoke billowed inside and out of the conference building as firefighters arrived at the scene in Belem.(AFP)

The United Nations and security crews rushed to the scene of the blaze with extinguishers and tried to put it out while smoke engulfed the corridor, and people were heard shouting "fire!"

Victoria Martins and Júlia Aguiar, technical personnel associated with the event, said that the fire was reported in the health and science pavilion on the next-to-last scheduled day of the COP30 summit, The Associated Press reported.

Smoke billowed inside and out of the conference building as firefighters arrived at the scene in Belem. Several videos of the blaze are doing the rounds on social media.

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The incident occurred when global ministers were deeply engrossed in negotiations to break a deadlock over fossil fuels, climate finance and trade measures, with just one day left in the two-week climate conference.

Brazil's tourism minister, Celso Sabino, said that the fire has been brought under control, informing that no injuries were reported in the incident.

"The incident has already been contained," Sabino reportedly said on Brazilian television.

UNFCC, the UN body that co-organised the COP30 summit said later that the venue of the climate conference will not reopen for several hours after the fire erupted.

In a message to the attendees, the UNFCC said, "Thank you delegates for the swift evacuation of the venue. The fire has been contained with limited damage. Delegates are advised that the venue will not reopen before 8 pm (2300 GMT)."

COP30 Summit in Brazil

The COP summit is an annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This year's summit has primarily focused on two issues -- the future of fossil fuels and the delivery of climate finance. These two matters expose criss-crossing fault lines between negotiating groups from rich Western countries, oil producers and smaller states that are most vulnerable to climate change.

Several countries have taken their cue from Brazil in mounting a push for a roadmap on how nations should transition away from fossil fuels. However, others, including some fossil fuel-producing nations, are resisting. They argue that the move would create bureaucracy without improving the commitments countries have already made toward reducing emissions.

At the 2023 COP28 summit, an agreement was made on the transition. But nations have not yet mapped out how or when it will happen.

On Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed COP30's push for clarity on the transition from fossil fuels and appealed for a deal from the climate summit.

"I welcome calls for a just transition mechanism and the growing coalition asking for clarity on the transition away from fossil fuel," Guterres told a press conference at the summit.

Emissions from burning fossil fuels are by far the biggest contributor to climate change as they trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere.

The summit's host nation, Brazil, has dubbed the consensus on the transition from fossil fuels a significant step to ramping international climate action and demonstrating wider support to accelerate the turning of decades of promises and pledges from the summit into concrete action.

"One thing is clear, we are down to the wire, and the world is watching Belem," Guterres said, adding that, "I strongly appeal to all delegations to show willingness and flexibility."

Guterres said he is "perfectly convinced that a compromise is possible". The UN chief emphasised that urgent measures are required to ensure global warming does not permanently break above 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times, a threshold that scientists have warned would unleash a cascade of devastating effects.