Diplomacy Papua New Guinea boycotts UN climate conference

Papua New Guinea will boycott the UN Climate Change Conference COP29, according to the country's Foreign Minister. "There is no point in going there if we fall asleep because of jet lag because we don't achieve anything," Justin Tkatchenko told the AFP news agency.

"All the big polluters in the world are pledging and committing millions to help and relieve the climate. And I can tell you right now that it's all going to consultants."

"The COP is a total waste of time," Tkatchenko continued. "We are fed up with the rhetoric and also the endless loop of having achieved absolutely nothing in the last three years."

This year's UN Climate Change Conference COP29 begins on November 11 in the Azerbaijani capital Baku. One of the aims of the two-week conference is to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels. They will also discuss the financing of climate protection measures. The UN Climate Change Conference COP30 will be hosted by Brazil next year.

According to the WWF, Papua New Guinea is home to the world's third largest area of rainforest and is often referred to as the "lungs of the earth". At the same time, the country, which is surrounded by ocean, is impoverished and prone to natural disasters. It is therefore considered particularly vulnerable to the dangers of climate change.

SDA