BAKU, NOV 12 (DNA): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to attend the opening session of the Climate Action Summit of COP29.

Dozens of world leaders also convened in Azerbaijan on Tuesday for COP29 but many big names are skipping the UN climate talks where the impact of Donald Trump’s election victory is keenly felt.

During his visit, Shehbaz will represent Pakistan in the conference and highlight the dangers of climate change affecting the country.

He will address COP29 on November 13 and attend several high-level events on the sidelines of the summit besides holding bilateral meetings with world leaders.

Several high-level events and round table discussions hosted by Pakistan will also take place at the Pakistan Pavilion during COP29.

More than 75 leaders are expected in Baku over two days but the heads of some of the most powerful and polluting economies are not attending this year’s summit.

Just a handful of leaders from the G20 — which accounts for nearly 80% of planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions — are expected in Baku, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“This government believes that climate security is national security,” his Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said on Monday.

Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron are among G20 leaders missing the event, where uncertainty over future US unity on climate action hung over the opening day.

Washington’s top climate envoy sought to reassure countries in Baku that Trump’s re-election would not end US efforts on global warming, even if it would be “on the back burner”.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell also appealed to solidarity, kicking talks off on Monday by urging countries to “show that global cooperation is not down for the count”.

But the opening day got off to a rocky start, with feuds over the official agenda delaying by hours the start of formal proceedings in the stadium venue near the Caspian Sea.

Later in the evening, governments approved new UN standards for a global carbon market in a key step toward allowing countries to trade credits to meet their climate targets.

COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev hailed a “breakthrough” after years of complex discussions, but more work is needed before a long-sought UN-backed market can be fully realised.