President Biden will not attend the United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan this year, his second consecutive year skipping the event after attending the first two years of his presidency.
A White House official confirmed to The Hill that the president will not be present at the COP29 summit in Baku, set to run from Nov. 11-22. Biden also did not attend 2023’s COP28 summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with Vice President Harris attending in his place. The White House did not clarify whether Harris would attend this year but should she prevail in the presidential election, transition planning will likely be underway.
An official State Department list of the U.S. delegation for this year’s conference, released Thursday, names senior White House climate adviser John Podesta as the leader of the delegation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory and Biden climate advisor Ali Zaidi are also listed as attendees.
The news means Biden will not be physically present to close out a presidency where he has sought to assure other nations of the U.S.’s commitment to climate action after then-President Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement. Biden rejoined the international compact shortly after taking office.
Biden is not the only world leader planning to sit out the summit this year. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also expected to skip the conference. China, India and the U.S. comprise the three biggest national sources of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who attended the COP28 Dubai summit and emphasized the South American nation’s commitment to climate action, cancelled his own plans to attend this year’s conference on the advice of his doctors following a head injury in October.
