President Biden will skip the United Nations climate summit that begins Thursday in Dubai amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, reports said Sunday.
Biden, who a few weeks ago called climate change the “ultimate threat to humanity,” will not be among the leaders of nearly 200 countries who will attend the two-week event, known as COP28, a White House official told the New York Times.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the president’s plans, did not give a reason for his absence, but senior aides told the publication that Biden has been preoccupied with deadly conflicts across Gaza and Israel.
“They’re dealing with a war in the Middle East and a war in Ukraine, a lot of things are going on,” John Kerry, Biden’s special envoy for climate change, said last week.
Kerry and his team will attend the summit in place of Biden. Leaders including King Charles III and Pope Francis are expected to attend.
Biden will not attend the annual UN climate summit that begins Thursday, according to a White House official.REUTERS This year’s summit, known as COP28, will be the first Biden will miss as president. Reuters
The Dubai summit will be the first UN climate conference – an annual event held in a different location each year – that Biden will miss since he became president.
In 2021, he flew to Glasgow, that year’s host country, for a worldwide event and apologized to other countries for the US’s brief departure from participating — when his predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled out and mocked climate change, according to the outlet.
Last year, Biden made a quick three-hour stopover in Egypt to attend the conference.
The annual climate event takes place in a different location every year and this year, it will be held in Dubai. ALI HAIDER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Most past US presidents have not attended the summit every year, but Biden’s absence is likely to draw backlash from climate activists.
Officials at the summit will examine and discuss their positions on limiting greenhouse emissions and global warming temperatures.
The world must cut emissions 43% below 2019 levels by 2030 to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change, scientists say, the Times reported. The current plan, however, would only reduce emissions by 7%.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
