A breach, a blockade, and a blaze: tumultuous UN climate talks head into their final day Friday in the Brazilian Amazon, with countries still sharply split over fossil fuels.
At stake at COP30 is nothing less than proving that international cooperation can still function in a fractured world — and delivering a text that nudges the planet back toward the critical 1.5C long-term warming target, despite the absence of President Donald Trump’s United States.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has branded it the “COP of truth,” investing significant political capital in its success and defending his choice to hold it in Belem, despite concerns over inadequate infrastructure that have plagued the hot, humid city on the edge of the world’s largest rainforest.
Delegates are set to resume their negotiations after a dramatic fire on Thursday torched a hole through the fabric ceiling of the COP30 venue, forcing a panicked evacuation.
It was the third major incident since the summit began at the COP30 compound, located on the site of an old airport and made up of enormous, air-conditioned tents alongside permanent structures.
Last week, Indigenous protesters stormed the venue and blockaded the entrance days later in a peaceful demonstration.
Thursday’s fire broke out around 2:00 pm (1700 GMT), quickly filling the cavernous halls with acrid smoke.
The blaze was brought under control in six minutes, organizers said. Nineteen people were treated for smoke inhalation and two for anxiety attacks, officials said. The venue reopened later on Thursday night.
– Infrastructure woes –
The symbolism of a fire breaking out at the UN’s annual summit tasked with reining in global warming was hard to miss.
In another twist, Brazil had chosen as its COP30 mascot a folklore guardian of the forest with flame-like hair, known as Curupira.
The cause of the blaze was being investigated but may have been the result of a short circuit or other electrical malfunction, said Brazilian Tourism Minister Celso Sabino.
Infrastructure problems have beset the summit from the start, from air-conditioning woes to leaking ceilings, and numerous participants have reported issues with electrical wiring.
At the negotiating table, countries are tasked with finding what UN chief Antonio Guterres has called an “ambitious compromise” on divisive issues.
These include phasing out fossil fuels — the main driver of human-caused warming and its escalating impacts, from record heat and severe storms to rising seas, crop failures and economic losses.
– Fossil fuel fight –
Lula has championed agreeing to a “roadmap” that would give countries specific targets — but in a dramatic turn, even the words “fossil fuels” were cut from the latest draft proposal put forward by the summit’s Brazilian leadership and seen by AFP.
That text was slammed by more than 30 countries that co-signed a letter drafted by Colombia stating: “We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.”
China, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Russia have rejected the fossil fuel roadmap, according to a negotiator who wished to remain anonymous.
Negotiators are also at odds over pressure from the developing world for developed countries to provide more financing to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and deploy renewable energy.
“The lack of finance from richer nations — a critical part of the Paris Agreement — remains an ongoing obstacle in these final days to securing bold and fair outcomes,” Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists told AFP.
And for the first time at a COP, trade has come to the fore.
The European Union is fighting resistance led by China and India to its “carbon tax” on imports such as steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers — measures Britain and Canada are also preparing to adopt.
Although COP30 is set to conclude Friday, climate summits often run into overtime — and Thursday’s lost hours may make that likelier.
