Earth’s biggest polluters aren’t sending leaders to UN climate talks in a year of weather extremes

Associated Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Azerbaijan. The climate talks often have the star power of a soccer World Cup, but many big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent. That includes the top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries. That drew a scolding from one speaker, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who said those countries have “nothing to be proud about.” One of the most notable leaders to make the talks is U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced a slight bump-up in his country’s emissions reduction target.