Biden will skip UN climate summit: official
President Biden will not attend a major United Nations climate summit that begins Thursday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, skipping an event expected to be attended by King Charles III, Pope Francis, and leaders from nearly 200 countries, a White House official said Sunday.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the president’s schedule, did not give a reason Biden will not make an appearance at the twoweek summit, known as COP28.
But senior White House aides suggested that the war between Israel and Hamas had consumed the president in recent weeks and days, as he pressed for a pause in fighting and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
“They’ve got the war in the Middle East and a war in Ukraine, a bunch of things going on,” said John Kerry, Biden’s special envoy for climate change, when asked about Biden’s plans in an interview last week. Kerry and his team will be in Dubai.
Kirsten Allen, a spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, said last week that Harris had no plans to attend COP28.
Addressing global warming has been a central domestic and international issue for Biden, who earlier this month called climate change “the ultimate threat to humanity.”
For the past two years, Biden has attended the annual UN climate conference, the location of which changes. In 2021, Biden traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, for the talks, where he apologized for the United States briefly pulling out of a global climate pact under President Donald Trump, who mocked climate science.
Climate activists are likely to be angered by Biden’s decision to forgo this year’s UN talks. But analysts said it was not typical for a US president to attend every climate summit.
In Dubai, leaders are expected to discuss their progress, or lack thereof, in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels.
That’s the threshold beyond which scientists say that humans will have trouble adapting to intensifying wildfires, heat waves, drought, and storms. In 2015, countries agreed to cut emissions from burning coal, oil, and gas to keep global warming “well below 2 degrees Celsius” and ideally no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
But the planet has already warmed an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius, and while the United States and some other countries have reduced their greenhouse gases, global emissions are continuing to rise. NEW YORK TIMES
Trump draws cheers, some boos in Haley’s backyard
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump used college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while trying to upstage his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf at the Clemson-South Carolina football game.
The former president and current front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination walked into Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Saturday night to chants of “We want Trump! We want Trump!” from fans gathered for the annual Palmetto Bowl, the state’s biggest sporting event of the year.
Haley, a Clemson alumna and trustee who was twice elected South Carolina governor, did not attend.
Trump was a guest of Governor Henry McMaster, Haley’s successor. The entourage, which entered through a veritable tunnel of Trump supporters on its way to a private suite, also included South Carolina’s senior Senator Lindsey Graham, giving the former president a show of local political force at a game featuring Haley’s alma mater.
McMaster ascended to the governor’s office in 2017 when Trump elevated Haley to United Nations ambassador. Graham and Haley have mostly been allies over the years. But both men now back Trump, and the former president enjoys a wide polling lead among Republican primary voters. That includes nationally and in early-nominating states like South Carolina.
At halftime, Trump came down to the field with McMaster, drawing mostly cheers and a smattering of boos.
Asked about the coming primary matchup with Trump, Haley spokesperson Olivia PerezCubas called her “the only candidate with momentum” and referenced Haley’s previous come-from-behind victories.