Biggest name world leaders missing at United Nations climate talks

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🗞️ Driving the news: The 2024 UN Climate Conference in Baku, COP29, has drawn global leaders, though notably absent are top leaders from the 13 largest polluting nations, including China, the U.S., India, and Indonesia
• The absence of these leaders, whose countries produce over 70% of global emissions, reflects what some experts view as limited political urgency
• Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev opened the conference with a mix of support for clean energy and defense of his country’s oil production

🔭 The context: COP29 follows a year marked by record-breaking heat and increased climate disasters
• At the conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the inevitability of the clean energy shift, regardless of political challenges, and urged wealthy nations to honor climate finance commitments to help vulnerable countries
• Leaders from small island states and African nations are present to press for climate action and financing

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The absence of major powers raises concerns about the speed and scale of global climate action, especially regarding commitments to emission cuts and climate finance
• With negotiations centered on financing between $100 billion and $1.3 trillion annually for adaptation and loss-and-damage costs, decisions made here will shape resources for developing nations facing severe climate impacts

⏭️ What’s next: The talks will focus on a potential agreement for significant climate financing, with Guterres urging nations to leave with a concrete deal
• Simultaneously, geopolitical factors like the upcoming G20 summit and political shifts in major nations may impact the outcomes and enforcement of COP29 resolutions

💬 One quote: “Developing countries must not leave Baku empty-handed… A deal is a must,” - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

📈 One stat: Global clean energy capacity has grown from 180 gigawatts in 2016 to 600 gigawatts in 2024, and electric vehicles have risen from 700,000 to 14 million globally

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