The Leaders’ Summit of the Conference of the Parties on climate, COP31, opens today in Antalya, Turkey, but several of the European Union’s key figures will not be at the negotiating table. German Chancellor Merz, French President Macron, Italian Prime Minister Meloni and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez are expected to be absent from the meeting.
The summit takes place today and tomorrow. The European Union will be represented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will deliver a speech during the summit. No representative of the US government will attend COP for the second year in a row.
President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the negotiations, calling climate change a “hoax”. The Leaders’ Summit is held at the start of the annual conference and is the first high-level meeting. There, heads of state hold one-on-one meetings on the positions they will take during the negotiations, which continue until next week, and sometimes form coalitions.
During the summit, leaders pose for a “family photo” and deliver speeches setting out the climate priorities of their countries. They announce commitments and often pressure other countries to act. The leaders have not given reasons for their absence, while competing priorities at home and abroad are expected to have complicated their planning. ## Criticism of the absences at COP31 in Antalya Criticism of the absences has come from Chiara Martinelli, Director of the Climate Action Network Europe.
According to her, the absent leaders are “losing more than just a photo opportunity”. She stresses that their absence will not stop the negotiations, but it also places even more responsibility on the ministers and negotiators who are present. The latter must show that Europe and other developed countries take the fulfillment of targets seriously.
“If the key leaders want to influence the direction of the global transition, attendance at meetings is a very good starting point,” Martinelli said. Sánchez has spoken particularly openly about the climate crisis and its effects, often after extreme weather in Spain. In this context, Brussels announced this week that nine EU member states are on track to miss their emission reduction targets for 2030.
This year’s conference is organized by Turkey and Australia, which can declare where they think the negotiations should focus. The countries present are the ones who agree on the agenda. Turkey’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, who will chair the summit, has said he wants COP31 to focus on turning climate commitments into concrete actions rather than new targets.
According to him, electrification and waste reduction will be the main points of focus. Many EU countries are expected to support the role of renewable energy and the move away from fossil fuels.