Syria attends Brazil’s COP30 as most Middle East leaders skip talks
Two years after the UAE and Egypt hosted back-to-back climate conferences, global headwinds are threatening climate action as talks begin in Belem amid notable absences.
Delegations from the Middle East are among nearly 200 nations that have gathered for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil. The global gathering opened with a leaders' summit on Nov. 6-7, followed by negotiations running from Nov. 10 to Nov. 21.
Yet the oil-rich Middle East’s contingent has featured few heads of state — a contrast with the strong regional participation seen at COP27 in Egypt in 2022, COP28 in the United Arab Emirates in 2023 and COP29 in Azerbaijan last year.
Notably, Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa attended the Belem summit, marking the first time a Syrian leader has participated in the annual climate talks. But other major Middle Eastern leaders were absent, reflecting a broader global pattern. While many European leaders took part, counterparts from China, India and Russia skipped the meeting. The United States also opted not to send a high-level delegation, as the Trump administration deepens America’s retreat from climate action.
COP30 arrives at a critical juncture — a decade after the Paris Agreement — as the window for keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels rapidly closes. The summit also follows a series of high-profile regional conferences: COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh and COP28 in Dubai, both of which produced landmark agreements.
