King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has downplayed expectations for the COP30 climate summit and questioned why European nations are expected to bear the brunt of the green agenda.
Representing his nation at the United Nations summit in Belém, Brazil, King Carl XVI Gustaf, who has been the reigning monarch of Sweden since 1973, said that he does not believe that the various countries in attendance would reach any meaningful agreement this week.
“That all countries should be able to sign the same paper, that is not possible. Everyone must take our own responsibilities and try to do the best we can,” King Carl said per Swedish broadcaster SVT.
While over 50,000 representatives from over 190 countries flocked to the sunny Brazilian port city this week, often using gas guzzling private jets to make the trip, the Trump administration was a key holdout, refusing to any high-level delegate to the talks after pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this year.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the summit as “harmful” which perpetuates a “hoax” rather than being “an honest organisation looking to better human lives.”
King Carl also questioned why a disproportionate onus has been on first-world European nations in the climate discussions.
“Europe only produces 6 percent. And everyone complains that it is too much. But the rest of the world is much, much worse,” he said. “You can think what you want about this. But how much should we actually pay? That is the crux of the matter.”
Indeed, countries such as Communist China, which is responsible for over a quarter of all global carbon emissions, has been able to avoid the same restrictions in agreements such as the Paris accords as it is classified as a “developing” nation, despite having the second-largest GDP in the world.
There have also been growing questions about the efficacy of the massive investments into the green agenda, with even top climate doomer Bill Gates recently acknowledging that the supposed crisis does not pose an existential risk to humanity and that scarce resources would likely be better spent on helping improve the quality of life and health of the poorest regions.
The comments from King Carl drew some rebuke from the government in Stockholm, with Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari saying: “Our prosperity is largely based on fossil fuel activities that other countries cannot now emulate. That is why it is good that Sweden is one of the world’s largest donors in climate aid.”
The Liberal Party politician went on to say that she believes it “will be possible to reach an agreement,” at the COP30 summit, but did not specify what that might entail.
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