Hardly any major world leader bothered showing up to the UN’s big COP29 event in sunny Azerbaijan. (Unless you count UK PM Kier Starmer showing up along with the Taliban.)

Even before Trump takes office, there are signs that world leaders are distancing themselves from the global climate change system.

As usual, Argentine President Javier Milei is making it more official.

Argentine President Javier Milei is evaluating whether to withdraw his country from the Paris climate agreement as part of a broader review of all international policy, according to a senior official in his administration who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no final decision has been made.

The move follows the libertarian president’s decision to recall his delegation from the U.N. climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan. It could further strain global cooperation on climate change at a time when President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to yank America out of the pact for the second time. When the United States withdrew from the accord during Trump’s first term, no other country followed.

First time around, maybe. But a lot of world leaders seem less and less enthusiastic about the UN conferences which have become ways for third world countries to demand endless amounts of money.

The Russia-Ukraine war has also been helpful in giving the Europeans something bigger to worry about than the sky is falling nonsense cooked up by solar energy investors. The world in general appears more unstable both globally and domestically. Environmentalism may just be sliding off the radar screen and while world leaders are not going to make Trump or Milei style gestures, they may be about ready to push this nonsense to the back burner.

Or so we can hope.