German chancellor cancels trip to Azerbaijan’s COP29

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has cancelled his planned attendance at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which is set to take place in Baku from November 11-22, due to escalating political tensions within the country. 

Scholz was initially scheduled to attend the event but decided to cancel in order to focus on stabilizing the situation in Germany. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron are also expected to skip the conference, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

Germany is in the midst of a deepening political crisis, fueled by growing disagreements within the ruling coalition over budget, financial, and economic policies. Key issues include the continuation of aid to Ukraine and the potential relaxation of the "debt brake" (a fiscal rule that prevents the government from spending more than its revenue). 

On November 6, Scholz made the decision to dismiss Finance Minister Christian Lindner who is the member of the Free Democratic Party. Scholz also announced plans to raise the question of confidence in his government in the Bundestag on January 15, 2025. If lawmakers vote to withdraw confidence, German law dictates that the president must dissolve the parliament within 21 days. New elections would then be required within 60 days of the dissolution of the Bundestag.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will be held in Azerbaijan this November. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary session in Dubai on December 11, 2023. 

During two weeks, Baku will become a global hub, welcoming around 70,000 to 80,000 international guests. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, aimed at preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system. 

The abbreviation COP means "Conference of the Parties" and refers to the highest decision-making body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the UNFCCC. The Convention has 198 member states. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, the COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in Berlin in March 1995, and its secretariat is based in Bonn.

By Naila Huseynova