Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to Southeast Asia and North Africa this month, but he won’t be attending a major climate-change conference.
The Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau will attend the Association of South East Asian Nations summit on Nov. 12 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, before heading to the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
He'll then attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, before flying to Tunisia for the Francophonie summit on the island of Djerba.
That leaves no time for Trudeau to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, in Egypt.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be the one leading the Canadian delegation to that summit instead.
Such UN conferences only have a leaders meeting every five years, and one isn’t scheduled for this year, but U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are expected to attend.
Canada will also host the UN Biodiversity Conference, which is known as COP15, in Montreal next month.
Trudeau’s visit to the four countries in just nine days will focus on shoring up support for trade and the rules-based international order.
