Only 77 leaders listed for COP31, down from 116 at COP28

Only 77 countries have leaders scheduled to speak at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye, on Nov. 11 and 12, according to a provisional UN list released Oct. 21 that does not include Canada’s Mark Carney.

That is nearly a third fewer than the 116 countries whose leaders spoke at COP28 in Dubai three years ago, Climate Home News reported on Oct. 23. The list is subject to change.

Apart from co-hosts Australia and Türkiye, the only G20 countries with a head of state or government on the list are Britain, Brazil and China, Climate Home News reported. China is likely to be represented by Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang rather than President Xi Jinping, who has not attended a climate COP since Paris in 2015, the outlet said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is on the list. Australia holds the formal role of president of negotiations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not on the UN list but is likely to give an opening speech, Climate Home News reported. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he will attend, as either a re-elected or an outgoing president, depending on Sunday’s runoff against Flavio Bolsonaro.

Climate Home News also listed French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Carney among major emitters not on the list. It said it is not known whether they will attend or what they will do instead. The outlet reported that Macron will reportedly attend First World War commemorations and a European Political Community summit.

Yvo de Boer, a former head of the UN climate secretariat, told Climate Home News the absence of many nations “that should be showing leadership on climate action and support for developing nations” sends “the wrong signal at a difficult time.” He said: “Climate action needs a strong show of support, not empty seats at a leaders’ summit.”

About a third of the countries on the list are African and a quarter are small island developing states, the outlet reported. The United States is withdrawing from the UN climate convention after quitting the Paris Agreement for a second time, and President Donald Trump has never attended a COP, it said.

The full conference runs Nov. 9 to 20 in Antalya, according to the official COP31 site. Türkiye’s deputy foreign minister, Berris Ekinci, said in September that the leaders’ summit would take place on Nov. 11 and 12, during the first week, Anadolu Agency reported via Yeni Safak. Erdogan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Albanese are scheduled to speak at the opening ceremony.

For Canada, the gap stands out because Carney was in Türkiye this week. He launched a strategic partnership with Erdogan in Ankara on Oct. 22, with free trade talks to start next month, and later spoke in Istanbul. Neither trip has been linked publicly to COP31, and the Prime Minister’s Office has not said whether he will go to Antalya. Canada has not been named in any confirmed attendance announcement found by Canada News Media.

The summit comes as the effects of warming are already measured in Canada’s partners abroad. A new study found heat killed 50,391 people in 854 European cities, and Brazil’s Amazon deforestation fell 42 per cent to a record low, giving Lula a record to carry to Antalya if he wins.

Climate Home News noted that Argentina’s Javier Milei has considered leaving the Paris Agreement but has not done so, and that Argentina is among about 30 countries yet to submit an updated national climate plan. The final speakers’ list is expected to change before the summit opens on Nov. 11.

Via Climate Home News and Anadolu Agency.

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