COP29: German Chancellor cancels trip to Baku

COP29: German Chancellor cancels trip to Baku
Chancellor Olaf Scholz. © Belga

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has cancelled his trip to the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, a government spokesman announced on Thursday, one day after Germany's governing coalition collapsed.

The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) begins on Monday.

"The chancellor will not be travelling to Baku for the COP next week," the spokesman told French news agency AFP.

Germany's conservative opposition has been pressing Scholz to organise a vote of confidence in the next few days. The Chancellor has set 15 January as the date for this vote in parliament and does not intend to deviate from it. He is determined to remain in power at the head of a minority government until early general elections.

In addition to the conservative opposition CDU/CSU, three other parties are calling for a vote of confidence in the next few days: the far-right AfD, which is in second place behind the conservatives in the polls, the left-wing BSW party and the FDP liberals, ousted from government.

Chancellor Scholz was due to spend Tuesday at COP29, giving a speech and taking part in a number of climate events.

COP will bring together 198 countries in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 November until at least 22 November.


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