World leaders are gathering in Azerbaijan for the COP29 Climate Conference to reign in carbon emissions and the burning of fossil fuels. NBC News’ Maura Barrett reports on who is attending the meeting and why there could be tension between certain leaders.

World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan although the big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent, unlike past climate talks

Dozens of world leaders convene 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

The climate talks often have the star power of a soccer World Cup, but many big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent. That includes the top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries.

In a year of weather extremes, four nations with more than 42% of all the world's population – China, the U.S., India and Indonesia – do not have heads of state present.