US President Joe Biden will not attend a meeting of world leaders on climate change in Dubai this week, a US official announced on Sunday.
Previously, The New York Times reported that Biden would not attend the event. Reuters reported last month that the US president was unlikely to attend the UN “Conference of the Parties” on climate, known as Cop28, as he balanced demands for war in the Middle East with a presidential campaign expected to gain momentum in January.
The President’s schedule for Thursday, released by the White House, indicates that he will hold a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, and visit the National Tree Lighting.
At a meeting in Dubai, dozens of countries plan to push for a world-first deal to phase out CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas.
The two-week talks will begin this Thursday in Dubai, with the United Arab Emirates as host. Dozens of world leaders, senior ministers and officials from 198 countries and some 70,000 delegates will attend, making it the largest annual event ever held under the 1992 UN framework convention on climate change.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to attend the event, while King Charles is expected to deliver the opening speech along with UN Secretary General António Guterres and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
The Pope, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are also expected to attend. An invitation has been sent to Syria’s president, Bashar Al-Assad. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not expected to take part in the event.
