An environmental conference in Azerbaijan is simply a joke? That's what critics say

This time, however, a bigger issue than the location of the summit is the absence of leaders of countries – the biggest poisoners – emitting more than 70% of all greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Why did they not come to this crucial global discussion, setting out fresh directions for planet development? Reasons vary – from head injury to president of Brazil Luiza Inácio Luli da Silvaby institutional responsibilities for the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister of France Emmanuel Macron and the Head of the European Commission Ursuli von der Leyen, after cancer in the case of the king Charles III. Neither did COP29: president of the United States Joe Biden, China leader Xi Jinping, president of Russia Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese. They have more crucial things on their head than the most crucial conflict for the planet.