German Chancellor Merz will not attend climate summit in Turkey — Der Spiegel

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will not travel to the meeting of heads of state and government held as part of the UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey. As Der Spiegel reports, a German government spokesperson explained the chancellor's decision by citing other commitments. He did not provide details about the reasons.

Conference will continue until November 20

The climate conference in Antalya will begin on November 9 and continue until November 20. Over two weeks, representatives of nearly 200 countries will discuss ways to curb global warming and assistance for poorer countries.

Tens of thousands of diplomats, media representatives and lobbyists are expected to attend. Last year, Merz personally attended the UN climate conference in Brazil. His predecessors Olaf Scholz and Angela Merkel attended many such conferences, though not all of them.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Criticism from the Greens and activists

Katharina Dröge, co-chair of the Greens' parliamentary group, called Merz's decision a devastating signal to the world. She recalled that in August the chancellor said he was prepared to do everything possible to combat climate change, and criticized his absence from the main global platform for making climate decisions.

Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer called the chancellor's absence a breach of taboo amid record heat and other climate disasters in Europe. She said that through this decision, the German government is creating an impression of a delayed response on the international diplomatic stage.

Martin Kaiser, a member of Greenpeace Germany's leadership, also criticized the decision. He said that Germany recorded more than 15,000 heat-related deaths this summer, while an independent climate expert council believes that the country is currently failing to meet its climate targets for 2030 and 2040.