For the first time in history, the U.S. is absent from the annual world climate conference, COP30, taking place in Belém, Brazil. The talks hit a sudden pause when a fire broke out at the conference site, forcing tens of thousands of registered participants to evacuate.
NPR’s Julia Simon, who was working in the massive inflatable press center when the blaze started, described people running as alarms sounded. Outside the tent she heard sirens and smelled burning plastic. Organizers later said delegates evacuated quickly and that the fire was contained with limited damage. The disruption left many delegates feeling sad and disappointed after days of intense negotiations.
Before the fire, negotiators were focused on familiar goals: adapting to global warming and securing funding for those efforts. A major point of contention at COP30 has been a push by more than 80 countries — including the U.K., Mexico and the host, Brazil — for a clear roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. “The main drivers of the climate crisis are fossil fuels, and the truth is that we need to transition away from fossil fuels. We need a pathway to phase out fossil fuels,” said Juan Carlos Monterrey, Panama’s special representative for climate change.
The absence of U.S. federal officials — a first in the conference’s history — has drawn mixed reactions. Observers noted the Trump administration’s increased support for fossil fuel production domestically and abroad, and some delegates worried the U.S. could have been an obstacle to agreeing on a fossil-fuel phaseout roadmap. Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s minister of climate change, said the U.S. absence might be beneficial: “Generally, it’s a good thing they’re not here because we have less recalcitrants to deal with.”
In the meantime, countries such as China and Brazil have been stepping up to fill leadership roles at the talks. In response to questions about U.S. participation, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in an email that President Trump “will not jeopardize our country’s economic and national security to pursue vague climate goals.”
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