President Biden Not Attending COP28 Climate Conference
Washington— President Biden is not planning to attend the United Nations climate change conference known as COP28 that starts this week in Dubai, remaining stateside as he focuses on domestic affairs and the crisis in Israel and Gaza.
The two-week summit will be widely attended by world leaders and diplomats, and the president has attended before. The White House is sending a team that includes John Kerry, U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also plans to attend COP28 events.
The conference did not appear on the president's weekly schedule that was released by the White House on Sunday. A spokesman said Monday that the White House didn't "have any travel updates to share for the President at this time," but that the "Administration looks forward to a robust and productive COP28" that will "continue to build on the administration's historic actions to tackle the climate crisis."
President Biden has participated in the conference on two previous occasions during his presidency. During last year's conference in Egypt, he made a commitment that the United States would take necessary actions to prevent a "climate catastrophe." At that time, President Biden expressed his confidence in the country's ability to achieve its emissions targets by 2030.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration published the Fifth National Climate Assessment, which emphasizes the urgent need for collective action to address climate change.
"Anyone who deliberately denies the consequences of climate change is putting the American people at risk of a perilous future," stated the president.
