Carney, absent leaders win ‘fossil of the day’ at COP31

Prime Minister Mark Carney and other leaders of wealthy countries who stayed away from the UN climate conference in Turkey were named the “fossil of the day” on Tuesday, Nov. 10, by Climate Action Network International.

The network, which has handed out the satirical award since 1999, said the day’s title went to the “absent leaders of wealthy countries,” including Canada, Germany, France, Japan and Denmark. “Despite widespread public demands for stronger climate action, these countries’ empty chairs send a dismal signal about their commitment to international climate co-operation,” the network said in a news release.

“They haven’t gone as far as the United States in abandoning the Paris Agreement altogether, but they appear to have decided that COP31 is no longer important enough to warrant their presence,” the release said. It said the leaders’ summit is where heads of government set political direction and build the trust that unlocks progress in negotiations, and where they can hear first-hand from leaders of vulnerable countries.

It is the second year in a row that Canada has been singled out. As we reported last November, the network gave Canada the title at COP30 in Brazil, the first time in more than a decade, for what it called “flushing years of climate action down the drain.” New Zealand received the award on Monday, Nov. 9, with the network saying its government has gutted methane targets and changed the law to shield corporations from climate litigation.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin is attending the first week of the conference, which is being held in Antalya and runs to Nov. 20. Some climate activists say Canada can expect criticism there from other countries over its recent policy shifts. Dabrusin defended Canada’s record ahead of the talks.

Since taking office, Carney has rolled back or cancelled several climate policies brought in by former prime minister Justin Trudeau, including the consumer carbon tax, an electric vehicle sales mandate and an emissions cap on oil and gas production. Canada’s environment commissioner said last month that the government abandoned work in 2024 on a 2021 pledge to ban thermal coal exports without any record of a directive to do so. Ottawa says that work is only “paused,” though the report also found the end of the work was formalized in August 2025 as part of budget cuts.

The turnout was already in question. Only 77 leaders were listed for the summit, down from 116 at COP28.

Carney was in Montreal on Tuesday for a meeting with leaders in the cultural sector. After Wednesday’s national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa, he was due to leave on a 10-day overseas trip that does not include Turkey. It takes him to the European Political Community summit in Dublin, the ASEAN summit in Manila, the Francophonie summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.

The Canadian Press reported the award and the prime minister’s schedule. The quotes are from the Climate Action Network International release.

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