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 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.