World leaders descend on Azerbaijan's capital Baku for United Nations climate talks
World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan although the big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent, unlike past climate talks which had the star power of a soccer World Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan although the big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent, unlike past climate talks which had the star power of a soccer World Cup.
But 2024's climate talks are more like the World Chess Federation finals, lacking the recognizable names but big on nerd power and strategy. The top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries will not appear with their countries responsible for more than 70% of 2023's heat-trapping gases.
Biggest polluters and strongest economies China and the United States aren't sending their No. 1s. The four most populous nations with more than 42% of all the world's population aren't having leaders speak.
āItās symptomatic of the lack of political will to act. Thereās no sense of urgency,ā said climate scientist Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics. He said this explains āthe absolute mess weāre finding ourselves in.ā
On Tuesday, Azerbaijanās president Ilham Aliyev, United Kingdomās prime minister Keir Starmer and Turkeyās president Recep Tayyip Erdogan are the headliners of among the nearly 50 leaders set to speak.
But there'll be a strong showing is expected from the leaders of some of the worldās most climate-vulnerable countries. Several small island nations presidents and over a dozen leaders from countries across Africa are set to speak over the two-day World Leadersā Summit at the COP29 conference.
As a sense of how the bar for celebrity has lowered, on Tuesday morning photographers and video cameras ran along side one leader walking through the halls of the meeting. It was the emergency management minister for host country Azerbaijan.
___
The Associated Pressā climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APās standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.