Zuhal Demir wants Belgium to send as limited a delegation as possible to the “climate puppet show”

Flemish Minister for the Environment Zuhal Demir already announced last year that she would not attend the climate summit that will take place in the United Arab Emirates at the end of November. In a letter to her fellow ministers from other governments in our country, she requests that the Belgian delegation be kept to a strict minimum. After all, there are currently seven ministers, 16 cabinet members, numerous officials and almost 150 people on the provisional delegation list, while only one minister, Alain Maron, has a formal role on behalf of Belgium. “If politics wants to maintain its seriousness with people, it must not go along with these puppet shows and focus on its core activities: achievements on the ground. “All of us together on the plane to Dubai will provide little relief for the climate,” says Demir.

Last year, a Belgian delegation of more than 120 people went to Egypt for a climate summit where only one Belgian minister, supported by a few technicians, had an official role. All the rest were there mainly for selfies and a few bilateral meetings.

A climate puppet show

“Yes, it is more compelling than just myself: I am raising such issues. By the way, I am not alone in that position. If politics wants to maintain its seriousness with people, it must not go along with these puppet shows and focus on its core activities: achievements on the ground. A climate puppet show contributes little to the fight against climate change,” says Demir.

One minister’s turn for the role

Demir refers to two things in her letter. On the one hand, that there are good agreements at the Belgian level. They stipulate that ministers take turns so that one minister speaks on behalf of the entire country at the European level on each occasion. Those positions are prepared together. It is not Demir’s turn this year, it is Brussels colleague Alain Maron’s turn. “So I am thus not going to the climate summit. We are only sending a few technicians from Flanders to support that one minister and to ensure that he honours the agreed positions during the negotiations,” says Demir.

Controversial host country

But the choice of the host country, the United Arab Emirates, can also not be ignored. From the state of human rights in the country to the appointment of Ahmed al-Jaber, chairman of the state oil company, as chairman, to even more recently, the leaked internal information and email exchange with oil companies, there are many reasons why environmental managers, human rights activists and policy makers question this.

No climate denial

Demir emphasises that her request has nothing to do with climate denial. The figures speak for themselves: after three years with Zuhal Demir, CO2 emissions have been reduced more in Flanders than in the previous 14 years, we are among the best in terms of renovation strategy, solar panels and wind energy, etc. “But the ease with which some people juggle percentages very often proves the lack of knowledge of the difficulty of turning the tanker around without destroying our prosperity and without plunging people into poverty,” Demir concludes.