President Joe Biden has abruptly pulled out of the Cop28 climate summit – a decision that could hurt his reputation among young Democratic voters going into the 2024 election year.
An anonymous White House official told The New York Times on Sunday about the president’s decision to skip the two-week United Nations summit, where hundreds of world leaders will flock to Dubai in a bid to tackle the global climate crisis.
While no reason has been offered for his lack of attendance, senior Biden administration officials have hinted that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war is currently taking up the president’s time and energy.
“They’ve got the war in the Middle East and a war in Ukraine, a bunch of things going on,” John Kerry, the president’s special envoy for climate change, previously told reporters when asked about Mr Biden’s plans for the summit.
Cop28 will kick off on Thursday (30 November), with 70,000 delegates from 200 nations expected to attend.
Confirmed attendees include King Charles III and Pope Francis, who insisted on Sunday that he will still attend despite being taken ill with a lung inflammation.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is also not expected to put in an appearance at the event.
However, several top US officials including Mr Kerry are being sent to represent America in its commitment to environmental policies.
According to Mr Biden’s schedule, released by the White House on Sunday, he will spend this Thursday hosting a bilateral meeting with Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, followed by taking part in the National Christmas Tree Lighting with First Lady Jill Biden.
On Sunday (3 December), he will attend the 46th Kennedy Center Honors where actor Billy Crystal and Bee Gees member Barry Gibb are among those being honoured with the top lifetime arts achievements.
His schedule is notably blank on Friday and Saturday when the Cop28 world leaders’ summit will be held on Friday and Saturday – paving the way for the possibility that he will put in an appearance at some time.
The Independent has reached out to White House for comment.
A spokesperson told Axios on Sunday night that they had no travel plans to share “at this time” but touted the president’s record on green policies.
“Since day one, President Biden has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate agenda in history, both at home and abroad,” the spokesperson said.
“He secured the largest climate investment ever, putting the U.S. on a path to cut climate pollution in half by 2030, protected more than 21 million acres of public lands and waters, and he continues to rally world leaders to raise their collective climate ambition.
“Although we don’t have any travel updates to share for the President at this time, the Administration looks forward to a robust and productive COP28 where Special Envoy John Kerry, National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, and Senior Advisor John Podesta, among others, will continue to build on the Administration’s historic actions to tackle the climate crisis.”
Mr Biden’s absence at Cop28 could hurt his popularity among Democratic voters at a time when he has sought to put environmental policies high on his agenda since taking the White House in January 2021.
In August 2022, Mr Biden introduced what has been hailed as the nation’s most significant climate change policy – the Inflation Reduction Act – which makes climate and clean energy goals central to the administration’s goals to also reduce inflation and bolster the economy.
The president has attended the last two annual UN climate summits – in Glasgow and Egypt.
During his first appearance, he apologised for the US’s withdrawal from a global climate agreement under his predecessor Donald Trump.
Earlier this month, Mr Biden warned that the climate crisis is costing the US $178bn a year and slammed the extreme arm of the Republican party who are seeking to sow doubt in its existence.
“Anyone who wilfully denies the impact of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future. The impacts we’re seeing are only gonna get worse, more frequent, more ferocious, and more costly,” he said.
“They hit everyone no matter what their circumstances, but they hit the most vulnerable the hardest.”
His comments came as the Biden administration released its National Climate Assessment (NCA) into the climate crisis.