A commemorative photo to mark the start of the 29th climate conference, COP 29. Heads of state and government pose for the camera, before hard-hitting negotiations begin in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. But several world leaders are not to be seen in the picture. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is one of those missing. DUBAI: Last year, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke at the climate summit, COP28. Photo: Lars Nehru Sand / news Last year Støre spoke at the summit in Dubai, but for the first time as prime minister he is skipping the UN climate summit. This year’s summit will largely be about arriving at an amount of money, which will be used to pay for, among other things, emission cuts and climate adaptation in poorer countries. Prioritization The fact that Støre is dropping this year’s climate summit has not gone down well with everyone. – Unfortunately, it sends a signal that Norway is not prioritizing the global climate effort sufficiently. That’s according to senior advisor in international climate policy at the WWF World Wide Fund for Nature, Inga Fritzen Buan, who is in place in Baku. FROM WWF: Inga Fritzen Buan is at the climate summit for the 17th time. Photo: Eivind Molde / news The Prime Minister’s Office (SMK) has told E24 that the reason is the G20 meeting, which takes place in Brazil right after the climate summit. – This does not imply any downgrading of international climate cooperation. SMK points out that, as guest countries in the G20, they can influence important decisions about, among other things, climate, the environment and social inequalities. More dropouts 2024 will by all accounts be the hottest year on record, but the number of leaders is unlikely to reach a record this year. For Norway is not the only country that does not send its supreme leader to the capital of Azerbaijan. AZERBAIJAN: This year’s climate summit is in Baku. Photo: Sergei Grits / AP According to the Climate Home News website, neither US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping or Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have said they will come. USA: Tension is high around the USA after Donald Trump won the presidential election. It is Joe Biden’s administration that is participating in this year’s climate summit, but they are not allowed to follow up. Photo: Eivind Molde / news Nor are German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen traveling to this year’s climate summit. Officially, there are around 100 heads of state and government in place in Baku. There are around 50 fewer than in last year’s meeting in Dubai. CLIMATE SUMMIT: Heads of state and government will be present at parts of the summit. Photo: Eivind Molde / news Norway’s delegation Norway’s delegation to this year’s meeting will be led by Climate and Environment Minister Tore O. Sandvik (Ap). Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim (Sp) also participates. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) was originally supposed to take the prime minister’s place, but had to cancel the trip at the last minute. – It was not possible to participate in the prime minister’s place, and the foreign minister has therefore canceled his trip, says a press release. Oil is “a gift from God” Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev took the podium early on day two of the summit. Several have been critical of the choice of yet another fossil fuel producer to host the meeting. Alijev used parts of his speech to defend fossil fuel production. – Accusing us of having oil is the same as accusing us of having more than 240 sunny days a year in Baku. – Accusing us of having oil is the same as accusing us of having more than 240 sunny days a year in Baku. He believes the country should rather be judged based on criteria such as unemployment and poverty rate. – Not the country’s natural resources, which are a gift from God. – Oil, gas, wheat, sun, gold, silver, copper, all these are natural resources. And countries should not be blamed for having them, and for bringing these resources to market. Tough against “fake news” and the West The country has also received harsh criticism from several quarters, among other things, due to the status of human rights and freedom of the press. Alijev came out strongly against the criticism in his speech: – Today, Azerbaijan’s share of global oil production is 0.7 per cent. The proportion of gas production is 0.9. But fake news media from the country which is the world’s number one oil producer (USA, journ.anm.) and which produces 30 times more than us, calls us a petrostate. They should look at themselves. Or on its neighbor (Canada, journ.anm.), which produces 10 times more than Azerbaijan, he said. – I have to highlight these figures for our audience, because immediately after Azerbaijan was chosen to host COP29, we became the target of a coordinated and well-arranged campaign of defamation and blackmail. It seemed like Western fake news, so-called independent organizations and certain politicians were competing to spread disinformation about our country. President Ilham Alijev flanked by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP – The clean energy revolution is here – A master class in climate destruction. This is how UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the year, which is set to be the hottest ever recorded, when he took the podium. Hurricanes, floods, heat waves on land and in the sea are just a few examples he highlighted from 2024. Everyone is affected by climate change, Guterres said, but emphasized that the rich create the problems and the poor often pay the highest price. – According to Oxfam, the richest billionaires release more carbon in an hour and a half than the average person does in a lifetime. He also pointed to large investments in renewable energy this year. – Almost everywhere, sun and wind are the cheapest forms of new energy. – The clean energy revolution is here. No group, no industry, no government can stop it, Guterres said. Climate summit The international climate negotiations take place at the annual climate summits. They are called Conference Of the Parties, abbreviated to COP, i.e. the conference for the “parties” (197 countries and the EU) that have signed the UN climate convention. The convention was adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in 1992. 1995: COP1, Berlin, Germany 1996: COP2, Geneva, Switzerland 1997: COP3, Kyoto, Japan 1998: COP4, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1999: COP5, Bonn, Germany 2000: COP6, The Hague, Netherlands 2001: COP7, Marrakech, Morocco 2002: COP8, New Delhi, India 2003: COP9, Milan, Italy 2004: COP10, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2005: COP11, Montreal, Canada 2006: COP12, Nairobi, Kenya 2007: COP13, Bali, Indonesia 2008: COP14, Poznan, Poland 2009 : COP15, Copenhagen, Denmark 2010: COP16, Cancún, Mexico 2011: COP17, Durban, South Africa 2012: COP18, Doha, Qatar 2013: COP19, Warsaw, Poland 2014: COP20, Lima, Peru 2015: COP21, Paris, France 2016: COP22, Marrakech, Morocco 2017: COP23, Bonn, Germany 2018 : COP24, Katowice, Poland 2019: COP25, Madrid, Spain 2020: Canceled due to the corona pandemic 2021: COP26, Glasgow, United Kingdom 2022: COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 2023: COP28, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2024: COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan Source: UN Published 12.11.2024, at 08.39 Updated 12.11.2024, at 14.09
ttn-69
World leaders gather at the climate summit – Norway’s prime minister is missing – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
