Türkiye Climate Summit: Leaders of major powers are absent, von der Leyen may feel "lonely"

The 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) entered the leaders' "high-level meeting" stage in Antalya, Turkey on Wednesday (November 11). Dozens of leaders will speak on Wednesday and Thursday. But many heavyweights are absent, with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham the only leader from the Group of Seven (G7) planning to speak. An international ranking released during the conference showed that most of the world's major economies are performing poorly in combating climate change.

According to AFP, European Commission President von der Leyen will be present, but French President Macron, German Chancellor Mertz and Italian Prime Minister Meloni will not attend. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are also not on the latest list. The French government stated that November 11 is the Armistice Day of World War I, and Macron will also attend the EU summit in Ireland on Thursday.

U.S. President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement. He has not sent officials to climate negotiations since he was re-elected, and he did not attend this time. Chinese President Xi Jinping was represented by Vice President Han Zheng. Chiara Martinelli, director of the European Climate Action Network, said: "I am worried that von der Leyen will be lonely on the stage because the leaders of the EU's largest economies will not show up." EU Climate Affairs Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra also admitted that the outside world's "expectations are not necessarily high" for this conference.

Leaders in attendance included Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian President Lula and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Lula won reelection last month, defeating Flavio Bolsonaro, much to the relief of climate activists. Host Turkey is promoting a voluntary initiative with the goal of increasing electricity's share of global energy consumption to 35% by 2035; the European Union emphasizes that electrification must be "clean".

According to the German News Agency, the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) released by Germanwatch and the NewClimate Institute shows that most countries in the Group of Twenty (G20) have made insufficient progress. These countries account for more than 80% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The UK is the only G20 member to receive a high rating, ranking seventh. Turkey and Australia, the two co-hosts of COP31, both fell into the lowest bracket.

With no country considered strong enough to achieve the 1.5°C temperature control target, the top three positions were once again vacant, with Denmark, Lithuania and Luxembourg ranked fourth to sixth respectively.

China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, ranks near the bottom despite being a leader in renewable energy trends.

Germany fell three places to 25th, its third consecutive year of decline, with its national climate policy scoring particularly low.