Bristol mayor says there is no irony in flying to Canada for climate talks.

Bristol’s mayor said there was “no irony” in flying 4,600 miles (7402 km) to attend a conference and give a talk about the climate crisis.

Climate activists chastised Marvin Rees for travelling to Canada to deliver a 14-minute TEDx talk, claiming it contradicted his message.

Mr. Rees stated at a press conference on Wednesday that he was invited to shape global thinking.

He stated that virtual attendance “wasn’t on the table,” adding, “have you seen any Ted conferences run by Zoom?”

Flight Free UK, a campaign group, criticized his decision to fly there due to the massive amount of carbon dioxide emitted by long-haul flights, in particular.

“If the argument is coherent and stacks up,” Mr Rees said, “how do you get the biggest platform for that?” With all due respect, getting it on the Bristol Live website isn’t going to provide us with that platform, is it?” According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

According to Mr. Rees, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Al Gore were also in attendance.

“It’s fantastic that Bristol, a city of less than 500,000 people, is being asked to take the stage at Ted and shape global thinking,” he added.

According to a recent freedom of information request, the Ted conference organizers paid $5,588 (£4,456) for the mayor’s travel expenses and an unknown amount for his lodging.

Breakfasts were on his agenda.