Will Biden be absent from COP28 in Dubai?
The participation of the U.S. President will be an opportunity for personal communication with Arab leaders and other world leaders to discuss the war in Gaza
Sources in Washington have ruled out the possibility of President Joe Biden attending the world leaders’ meeting on climate change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in November, as this meeting represents an opportunity to address climate-related risks.
The 28th meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP28, is scheduled to take place in Dubai, UAE, from November 30 to December 12 and is a major oil-producing country.
Two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the planning for the event said that Biden‘s agenda is not yet set in stone, and they mentioned that it is not official until announced. Two of them stated that a final decision has not been made, while the White House said it has no updates on the President’s travel plans.
A spokesperson stated, “President Biden has led the most ambitious climate agenda in history, both domestically and internationally. While we do not have any updated information regarding travel to announce at this time, the administration looks forward to a strong and productive COP28 conference”.
President Biden‘s aides are trying to balance the demands of the President’s time amid the war in the Middle East and his confrontation with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives over federal spending, as the presidential election campaign season, expected to intensify in January, approaches.
Dozens of countries are planning to press for the first-ever global agreement to phase out coal, oil, and gas emissions of carbon dioxide at the Dubai meeting. Reaching this agreement would be a significant achievement for the Democratic President before the 2024 presidential election, as many liberal voters and young people consider climate change a key issue.
The UAE is preparing to host this event with the aim of its success, as the current session is expected to be unique from previous sessions and will garner significant international attention due to the confidence placed in the UAE’s capabilities by governments.
The event would also provide an opportunity for the U.S. President, if he attends, to personally communicate with Arab leaders and other world leaders to discuss the war in Gaza after the cancellation of a summit that was scheduled to take place in Jordan this month.
Last year, among the attendees were Egyptian President AbdUl Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden attended two COP meetings since his inauguration in 2021.
Former President Donald Trump, a Republican seeking re-election in 2024, was absent from the events after announcing the country’s withdrawal from the global Paris Agreement on climate change.
Biden has since brought the United States back into the agreement. Biden‘s participation in COP27 was announced in Egypt just two weeks before the event.
