Starmer and Taliban to attend Cop29 climate talks as other world leaders snub summit

Simon Stiell, the UN climate change chief, speaks during the opening of Cop29 on Monday
Simon Stiell, the UN climate change chief, speaks during the opening of Cop29 on Monday - Alexander Nemenov/AFP

Sir Keir Starmer and the Taliban head to the Cop29 climate summit this week, while the leaders of France, China and the US stay away.

The Taliban will attend the talks as observers at the invitation of the Azerbaijani hosts, because they are not formally recognised by the UN’s climate change body.

Sir Keir will be one of only two G7 leaders to speak at the summit when he arrives in Baku on Tuesday after Joe Biden, the US president, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, said they would not travel to Azerbaijan.

The Taliban’s appearance at the summit will be the first time Afghanistan has sent a delegation since the group took over power when the US withdrew in 2021.

Observer status means the Taliban delegation can attend meetings at the summit but not participate in decision making.

Cop29 is one of the only major global conferences that the Taliban has attended, aside from a UN meeting in Doha to discuss Afghanistan and forums in China and Central Asia.

Over two weeks during the UN conference, negotiators from nearly 200 countries will attempt to agree terms of a financing deal to help poorer countries go green.

Attendees walk past a Cop29 sign at the UN climate change conference
Negotiators from almost 200 countries will attempt to agree terms of a financing deal to help poorer countries go green - Alexander Nemenov/AFP

Senior Government figures said that by attending, Sir Keir wanted to “send a clear signal” that the UK would continue to push for ambitious climate targets, with a number of announcements planned on domestic green energy policies.

Global uncertainty on various fronts has kept many world leaders from this year’s summit.

Mr Macron is reportedly staying away because of tense relations with Baku over Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia.

Mr Scholz had originally planned to attend, but cancelled his appearance after the collapse of his ruling coalition.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, is among other leaders to stay away from the conference, with the European Union in a transition phase.

The entrance of the Cop29 venue in Baku, Azerbaijan
The Prime Minister will be one of a handful of major leaders to attend the summit in Baku - Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Asked about the litany of world leaders who have chosen not to attend the Cop29, Sir Alok Sharma, who served as the president of Cop26, said it was “disappointing”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it is disappointing that we don’t have more world leaders coming to this Cop and, I mean, Keir Starmer is coming, and I think that’s great. It’s showing UK leadership.”

He added: “But what also matters is what all of these countries and the delegations actually announce in terms of the pledges, and also, really importantly, what progress has been made in implementing … existing climate commitments.

“Ultimately those detailed negotiations are led by ministers rather than heads of government, so those ministers are obviously coming. Some of them are already here, so we’ll have to see what progress they managed to make.”

Sultan Al Jaber, the president of Cop28, and Mukhtar Babayev, the president of Cop29, at the opening of the summit in Baku on Monday
Sultan Al Jaber, the president of Cop28, and Mukhtar Babayev, the president of Cop29, at the opening of the summit in Baku on Monday - Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

The scale of funding for more vulnerable nations to decarbonise their economies and adapt to global warming will be at the top of the agenda for the climate summit.

African and Arab countries are hoping for funding of about $1 trillion a year by 2035. Countries such as the UK and Azerbaijan are expected to use Cop29 to announce plans on how much they will cut emissions by 2035.

Last week, the United Arab Emirates, which hosted last year’s summit, pledged a 47 per cent emissions reduction by 2035. Brazil, which is set to host next year’s conference, said it would cut emissions by 67 per cent by 2035.

However, China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, said the country’s plan will come at an “appropriate time” in 2025.