Putin to stay home during climate summit in Glasgow due to covid concerns

A host of other world leaders do not plan to attend the summit or have not formally committed to joining the talks in person.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is not expected to attend, but could also participate by video link, Chinese officials have said. China plans to send its special climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua. Other leaders not expected in Glasgow include Pope Francis and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has not yet announced his plans, according to the Reuters news agency.

For years, Putin rejected the scientific consensus that humans are fueling the warming of the planet. But addressing the devastating wildfires that engulfed large swaths of Siberia this summer, Putin said, “many believe, with good reason, that this is connected primarily to human activity, to emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere.”

Russia, one of the world’s biggest producers of oil and gas, has long faced criticism for setting weak climate targets and not doing more to curb the carbon footprint of its massive fossil fuel industry. Experts at the Climate Action Tracker, which monitors countries’ climate promises, rate Russia’s current 2030 target under the Paris agreement as “highly insufficient.”

Ahead of the climate conference in Glasgow, Putin announced last week that Russia “will strive” for carbon neutrality by 2060 — the most ambitious climate goal the country has set yet. He added that “the role of coal and oil will decrease.”

Russia’s delegation is expected to be large even without Putin there, potentially numbering 300 people.