The U.S. won’t be sending any “high level” representatives to this year’s United Nations climate summit, a White House official told The Hill on Friday.
The summit, known as COP30, will be held in Brazil next month. Traditionally at such meetings, nations discuss their plans for climate action, unveil climate-related initiatives and seek to negotiate global climate agreements.
The official noted that President Trump is working directly on international energy issues with leaders, including in recent trade deals.
The administration’s move not to participate in the summit is not necessarily a surprise. Trump and many of his Cabinet officials have sought to downplay the impacts of climate change and roll back regulations, including the 2009 determination that climate change poses a threat to public health.
Trump also started the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the global Paris agreement. Under this deal, nations agreed to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) as part of an effort to avoid some of the worst climate impacts.
This week, Trump announced that South Korea has agreed to purchase “vast quantities” of U.S. oil and gas and said his administration is also eyeing an energy deal with China.
Then-President Biden attended two COP summits during his term. Other officials from his administration went to the ones he did not attend.
Source: The Hill
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