BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) 鈥� World leaders converged Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference with plenty of big names and powerful countries noticeably absent.
Past talks often had the star power of a soccer World Cup. But the meeting just getting underway in Azerbaijan won't have the top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries 鈥� a group responsible for more than 70% of the heat-trapping gases emitted last year.
鈥淭he people who are responsible for this are absent,鈥� Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his speech at the summit. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing to be proud about.鈥�
The world's biggest polluters and strongest economies 鈥� China and the United States 鈥� aren't sending their No. 1s. Neither are India and Indonesia. That's the world's four most populous nations, with more than 42% of all the world's people.
鈥淚t鈥檚 symptomatic of the lack of political will to act. There鈥檚 no sense of urgency,鈥� said climate scientist Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics. He said this explains 鈥渢he absolute mess we鈥檙e finding ourselves in.鈥�
Leaders highlight inevitable warming and energy transition
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders who did show up that the world is seeing 鈥渁 master class in climate destruction" in a year virtually certain to be hottest on record.
But Guterres held out hope, saying in a veiled reference to Donald Trump's re-election in the United States that the 鈥渃lean energy revolution is here. No group, no business, no government can stop it.鈥�
UN officials said when Trump was first elected in 2016, the world had 180 gigawatts of clean energy and 700,000 electric vehicles. Now it's 600 gigawatts of clean energy and 14 million electric vehicles.
Host Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev kicked off two scheduled days of world leaders' speeches by lambasting Armenia, western news media, climate activists and critics of his country's rich oil and gas history and trade, calling them hypocritical since the United States is the world's biggest oil producer. He said it was 鈥渘ot fair鈥� to call Azerbaijan a 鈥減etrostate鈥� because it produces less than 1% of the world's oil and gas.
Oil and gas are 鈥渁 gift of the God鈥� just like the sun, wind and minerals, Aliyev said. 鈥淐ountries should not be blamed for having them. And should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them.鈥�
Rev. Fletcher Harper of GreenFaith, a faith-focused environmental activism group, responded by calling fossil fuels "literally the highway to hell for billions of people and the planet."
Aliyev said his country will push hard for a green transition away from fossil fuels, 鈥渂ut at the same time, we must be realistic.鈥�
With many heavyweights away, other nations fill the void
One of the most notable leaders to make the talks is U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He announced an 81% emissions reduction target on 1990 levels by 2035, in line with the Paris Agreement goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. That's up from the 78% the U.K. had already pledged.
U.K. greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by almost half from 1990 levels, mainly because of the almost complete removal of coal from electricity generation.
Many climate analysts welcomed the announcement. "It sets a strong bar for other countries," said Debbie Hillier, the global climate policy lead of Mercy Corps. Nick Mabey from the climate think-tank E3G said 鈥渙ther nations should follow suit with high-ambition targets.鈥�
There鈥檚 also a strong showing from the leaders of some of the world鈥檚 most climate-vulnerable countries. Several small island nations presidents and over a dozen leaders from countries across Africa are speaking at the two-day World Leaders鈥� Summit portion of the conference.
鈥淥ur forebears map the tides with sticks, coconut fronds and shells. It is in our blood to know when a tide is turning. And on climate, the tide is turning today,鈥� said Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine. 鈥淭ime will judge those that fail to make the transition.鈥�
Spain Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez noted that the deadly floods in his country last month 鈥渨ould have been less likely and less intense without the effect of climate change.鈥�
鈥淲e must ensure natural disasters do not multiply or replicate," he said. "Let鈥檚 do what we promised to do seven years ago in Paris.鈥�
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said the world is in 鈥渁 season of superlatives.鈥� Barbados was hit with destructive Hurricane Beryl earlier this year.
鈥淭hese extreme weather events that the world is facing daily suggest that humanity and the planet are hurtling towards catastrophe,鈥� she said.
United Nations officials downplayed the lack of head of state star power, saying that every country is represented and active in the climate talks.
One logistical issue is that next week, the leaders of the most powerful countries have to be half a world away in Brazil for the G20 meetings. The recent election in the United States, Germany's government collapse, natural disasters and personal illnesses also have kept some leaders away.
Climate negotiators focus on money
The major focus of this year's talks is climate finance 鈥� wealthier nations compensating poor countries for damages from climate change's weather extremes, helping them pay to transition their economies away from fossil fuels and helping them with adaptation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not surprising that richer nations are trying to downplay the importance of this crucial finance COP," said Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to evade their responsibility to pay up.鈥�
Nations are negotiating over huge amounts of money, anywhere from $100 billion a year to $1.3 trillion a year. That money 鈥渋s not charity, it's an investment,鈥� Guterres said. 鈥淒eveloping countries must not leave Baku empty-handed."
Climate analysts welcomed an announcement by a group of 11 multilateral development banks including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank that their annual climate financing for the rest of the decade should reach $120 billion.
In the negotiations backroom, the G77 and China negotiating bloc 鈥� which includes many of the world鈥檚 developing countries 鈥� put forward a demand of $1.3 trillion annual climate finance for the first time. A representative said the bloc cannot accept the framework submitted for negotiations.
鈥淲e will not get a strong new goal in Baku if it is not shaped in a way that respects the G77 positions,鈥� said Iskander Erzini Vernoit, director of Moroccan climate think-tank Imal Initiative for Climate and Development. 鈥淭he G77 and China are setting the agenda.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed from London.
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Seth Borenstein, Melina Walling And Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press
