Leaders head to Bonn for UN climate talks but notable exceptions

Leaders of various countries will today attend the final two days of UN climate talks in Western Germany.

Angela Merkel, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are expected to affirm their commitment to the 2015 Paris Accords. A study presented at the conference earlier this week estimated that global emissions will rise by 2% in 2017 – the first increase in three years. As such, it is likely that the leaders will emphasise the need for a swift implementation of the accords.

Among the absentees will be US President Donald Trump. The US now stands to be the only country in the world to reject the Paris Accords, after Syria signalled its intention to ratify the agreement last week. Interestingly, the earliest that the US can withdraw from the agreement is November 2020, which coincides with the next presidential election.

But carbon emissions wait for no country. The promises made in 2015 to combat climate change will be meaningless until all countries across the world take real action to reduce carbon emissions.

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