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US Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday night.
Harris is set to join Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other high-ranking American officials at the two-week event that begins Thursday. She is expected to address the summit later this week.
President Joe Biden isn’t planning to attend COP28, according to people familiar with the situation. Under Biden, the US rejoined the Paris Agreement and has been an active, forceful member in the conference of parties that meets annually to negotiate for efforts to shrink global greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a warming world.
He attended the last two summits, making a quick stop in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last year and traveling to Glasgow, Scotland in 2021.
The vice president has increasingly focused on climate change, including the administration’s implementation of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act enacted last year.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron as well as King Charles III are among the world leaders expected in Dubai.
White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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John Kerry, the president’s special envoy on climate change, will be in Dubai for the whole of the summit, which runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.
Formal negotiations at COP28 will center on the response to warnings countries are falling short in slashing emissions enough to keep warming to 1.5C, a critical tipping point, and possible commitments to phase down fossil fuels.
--With assistance from Justin Sink.
(Updates with summit agenda, in final paragraph.)
Author: Jennifer A. Dlouhy and John Harney
