Biden's Absence: Climate Summit in Dubai Without US President

President Joe Biden will not attend the latest UN climate summit in Dubai, breaking a two-year streak of US participation in the talks aimed at showcasing American leadership on climate issues. The upcoming COP28, set to open on Thursday, is anticipated to be the largest United Nations climate summit ever, with around 70,000 attendees, including national leaders and Pope Francis.

Joe Biden gets on Air Force One at Nantucket Memorial Airport.

White House schedules for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris do not include plans to travel to Dubai this week. Instead, President Biden's agenda involves a trip to Colorado to highlight US investments in wind energy, a meeting with the president of Angola, and participating in the lighting of the national Christmas tree.

A US official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that President Biden would not be attending COP28 this week or during a second window close to the end of the talks on December 12. The administration is still considering whether to send a top-level official to represent the United States in Dubai. John Kerry, the US climate envoy, will lead day-to-day negotiations for the country.

While the official did not provide a specific reason for President Biden's decision, it is noted that Biden has been focused on the conflict between Israel and Hamas for over a month. Additionally, he aims to highlight his domestic agenda with less than a year remaining until the US presidential election.

President Biden attended COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, where he pledged that the United States would reassume a global leadership role on climate issues after his predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the Paris climate accord. Trump, a climate skeptic, argues that climate action is too costly for the United States.

Biden's commitment to addressing climate change is evident in his domestic priorities, with the Inflation Reduction Act, his key legislative achievement, allocating significant funds to the green economy, including incentives for electric cars. In preparation for COP28, John Kerry engaged in extensive talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, expressing a joint commitment from the world's two largest greenhouse gas emitters to work together for progress in Dubai.