انفجار ميكروويف يشعل النار في جناح الدول بقمة المناخ ويُجلي الآلاف!

In a dramatic development, a fire broke out on Thursday evening at the venue of the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, leading to the evacuation of thousands of negotiators and delegates just as they were preparing for crucial rounds that could result in a historic agreement or end in another failure.

Surveillance camera footage showed flames suddenly igniting in the exhibition hall, quickly spreading through the interior fabric covering the walls and ceiling of the building, before firefighters were able to bring it under control in just six minutes.

Microwave Fire

The organizing authorities reported treating 13 people for smoke inhalation, while firefighting teams attributed the likely cause to an electrical fault in a microwave.

Suspension of COP30 Climate Summit Negotiations

Guards were forced to form a human chain to organize the evacuation process, while the incident led to the suspension of official negotiations until Friday morning, with the possibility of limited consultations continuing at night if safety checks confirmed the venue was secure.

The fire comes at a critically urgent time, with less than 24 hours remaining until the official conclusion of the summit, and the participating countries (about 200 nations) have yet to reach consensus on any of the major issues.

Guterres' Call

Earlier on Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres renewed his call for a strong agreement, welcoming the demands of dozens of developed and developing countries for a clear roadmap to gradually move away from oil, gas, and coal.

COP30 Climate Summit Draft

However, the draft proposal distributed by the Brazilian presidency on Thursday among a limited group of countries completely lacked any reference to this roadmap, which sparked dissatisfaction among many delegations.

Instead, the draft included a call to triple climate finance for adaptation to climate changes by 2030 compared to 2025 levels, without specifying whether this funding would come directly from the budgets of wealthy governments or from other sources such as development banks and the private sector.

The two main points of contention remain unchanged from two weeks ago: the future of fossil fuels and how to ensure reliable and sufficient funding for poor countries to adapt to increasing climate disasters.

Tensions have escalated following the United States' effective withdrawal from climate cooperation under President Donald Trump, raising deep doubts about fulfilling the previous commitment to provide $300 billion annually.

Stephen Victor, the Minister of Environment for the island nation of Palau in the Pacific, stated: “Our people are losing their lives and livelihoods due to unprecedented storms fueled by warm waters. If we leave Belém without a radical outcome on the adaptation issue, the summit will be a failure.”

For their part, European officials emphasize the importance of adaptation funding, but they say they are not authorized to agree on new figures at this summit.

Despite all the complexities and the sudden fire, António Guterres remains hopeful, stating: “I am fully convinced that a settlement is possible,” emphasizing that “flexibility is required from everyone in the coming hours.”