United States: A US official reportedly stated that US President, Mr. Joe Biden, will not be attending the recent UN climate summit in Dubai.
This Thursday’s opening of COP28, which could be the largest UN climate summit ever, is expected to draw about 70,000 attendees, including Pope Francis and national leaders.
Mr. Biden and Vice President’s, Ms. Kamala Harris, schedules, made public by the White House, indicated that neither would be visiting Dubai this week.
In addition to lighting the national Christmas tree, Mr. Biden will be visiting Colorado to promote US investment in wind energy. The US president will also meet with the president of Angola.
According to a US official, Mr. Biden had no intention of attending COP28 this week or next week, which is when the talks come to an end on December 12.
Speaking anonymously, the official stated that there was ongoing discussion within the Mr. Biden administration regarding the possibility of sending a senior official to Dubai.
The US climate envoy, Mr. John Kerry, a former senator and secretary of state, will oversee day-to-day negotiations on behalf of the US, as per the statement.
The representative withheld the rationale behind Mr. Biden’s decision. However, with less than a year until the US presidential election, the President has been concentrating on the conflict between Israel and Hamas for more than a month in addition to trying to promote his domestic agenda.
Mr. Biden has been to the annual UN climate conference for the last two years. The President went to Glasgow in 2021 for the discussions, the previous year, he stopped in Egypt for three hours to attend the summit.
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