This is why the top politicians are ducking the COP29 climate meeting

There has been criticism that so few top politicians showed up at the COP29 climate meeting in Azerbaijan. Now TV4 Nyheterna has reviewed exactly which of the donor countries’ prime ministers, prime ministers and presidents chose not to come.

Those who have so far contributed to climate finance are countries in Western Europe, North America as well as Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A total of 23 states. At the climate summit in the United Arab Emirates last year, there were only two (the United States and Canada) whose top leaders did not sign up to speak at the opening meeting. During the opening presentations, the top politicians usually talk kindly about climate cooperation and underline how important it is that everyone does their utmost to reach an agreement.

Fewer world leaders speak

Now this year, when it comes to discussing how much climate finance for the poorer part of the world should increase, only ten of the donor countries have announced that they will send their top leaders, according to documents from the UN agency UNFCC. Later, Germany has also announced that neither Olaf Scholz will come.

Almost a third of the high animals will thus not appear. One might ask where the shoe pinches? Maybe the prime ministers don’t want to stand in the pulpit and promise gold and green forests when you want to keep your own gold in the treasury and ignore the green forests?

Own economic and political problems, such as the war in Ukraine and threats of far-right politicians taking over, naturally make it more difficult to be generous. And empathy with people and nature in other parts of the world might not bother you so much. Then COP29 could be a timely meeting to duck from.