Cop 29: Albanian PM questions point of summit ‘if biggest polluters continue as usual’ – live updates
Cop 29: Albanian PM questions point of summit ‘if biggest polluters continue as usual’ – live updates
France’s ecology minister cancels after Azerbaijan’s president attacks French actions in overseas territories
Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, has gone off-script - he said he left behind his “well-prepared speech” after watching yesterday’s leaders make their statements on silent screens above comfortable couches in an adjoining room at the Cop29 venue in Baku yesterday.
“People there eat, drink, meet and take photos together - while images of voiceless leaders play on and on and on in the background,” he said. “To me, this seems exactly like what happens in the real world every day. Life goes on, with its old habits, and our speeches - full of good words about fighting climate change - change nothing.”
“What does it mean for the future of the world if the biggest polluters continue as usual?” asked Rama. “What on earth are we doing in this gathering, over and over and over, if there is no common political will on the horizon to go beyond words and unite for meaningful action?”
While it sounds a bit defeatist, he does make a brilliant point. All of this is no good if all the leaders of the worst offenders outright refuse to attend these events and actually commit their countries to meaningful change.
World leaders missing from COP29 ...
Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among the G20 leaders skipping the event.
Other absentees included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Brazilian President Lula da Silva. Source