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When there’s a global crisis, wealthy countries tend to find money. That was the case in the United States when big banks were bailed out to soften a global financial crisis. But the climate crisis? This weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and promised $3 billion for the Green Climate Fund, which benefits poorer nations. One of the big tests facing this summit, known as COP28, is whether it will fare any better than earlier climate talks at shoring up anything close to the money that’s needed.

Persons: Kamala Harris, John Kerry, Biden’s Organizations: United Arab, Green Climate Fund, Biden, Walmart, Pepsi, McDonalds Locations: United States, Ukraine, United Nations, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

☆ China's emissions targets not robust enough, U.S. energy chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowChina's current emissions reduction targets are not as strong as they need to be, U.S. Deputy Secretary for Energy David Turk said Monday. Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific review project, currently rates China's climate targets as "highly insufficient," and the U.S.'s as "insufficient." Another example of a tough question that needed addressing, Turk said, was on Scope 3 emissions — a measurement of direct and indirection emissions. "Many oil and gas companies, their Scope 3 emissions are 10 times Scope 1 and Scope 2 combined. watch nowOil and gas companies are currently "making an awful lot of profit," but only 1% of spending globally for clean energy is coming from oil and gas companies, he said.

Persons: Energy David Turk, Turk, CNBC's Steve Sedgwick, I've, that's, John Kerry Organizations: Energy, United Nations, U.S, Exxon, CNBC Locations: U.S, Paris, China

Britain's Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer attends television interviews on the final day of the party's annual conference in Liverpool, Britain, October 11, 2023. It is not unusual for opposition leaders to receive summit invitations, but COP28 is particularly resonant. Ireland's climate minister, Eamon Ryan, hailed Britain's climate leadership, but also said Sunak's reset of some measures had not gone down well when the news was reported while he was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly. Britain's development minister Andrew Mitchell, at COP28, told Reuters what Sunak did "was very good government". But the Conservatives' former finance minister George Osborne questioned whether Sunak had been angered that Kitsotakis had met Starmer before him.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Phil Noble, Starmer, King, Jordan, John Kerry, General Antonio Guterres, Rishi Sunak, COP28, Sunak, Espen Barth Eide, Eamon Ryan, Andrew Mitchell, we're, Kyriakos, Sunak's, George Osborne, Kitsotakis, Elizabeth Piper, Kate Abnett, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Britain's Labour, REUTERS, Labour Party, UN, Labour, General, Reuters, Greek, Elgin, British, Conservatives, Thomson Locations: Liverpool, Britain, DUBAI, Dubai, Israel, Gaza, Qatar, Brazil, London, COP28, Norwegian, New York

JAKE SULLIVAN - THE LAST GUY IN THE ROOMBiden often turns to Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, when he is considering final options and looking for advice and counsel. "He develops and puts forward the policy options before the president for him to decide," said one U.S. official. Sullivan, 47, was national security adviser for Biden when he was vice president and deputy chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He gathers policy options from across government agencies and prepares them for Biden to consider, the traditional role of the national security adviser. JON FINER - ASKING QUESTIONSSullivan relies heavily on his deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer.

Persons: Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Evelyn Hockstein, ANTONY BLINKEN, Biden, Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, JAKE SULLIVAN, Sullivan, Jake, Hillary Clinton, BRETT MCGURK, Brett McGurk, McGurk, George W, Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, BILL BURNS, spymaster, Bill Burns, It's, Burns, LLOYD AUSTIN, STARK, Lloyd Austin, Yoav Gallant, Israel, KAMALA HARRIS, Kamala Harris, Harris, ”, JON, Jon, John Kerry's, Kerry, Arshad Mohammed, Nandita Bose, Don Durfee, Heather Timmons, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S, Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, Israeli, Biden, White House, National Security, U.S ., CIA, . Defense, Pentagon, Islamic State, U.S . Army, ISIS, Palestinian, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Washington Post, Thomson Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza, East, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, United States, Qatar, Doha, Iran, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Ankara, U.S, Austin, Dubai, West

☆ John Kerry responds to COP28 president's claim there's 'no science' behind fossil fuel phase out
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The remarks, which were made by Al-Jaber during a live online event on Nov. 21, were described as "farcical" by climate scientists. Asked to respond to Al-Jaber's comments, Kerry replied, "That's not the argument." watch nowA spokesperson for COP28 wasn't immediately available to comment when asked about Al-Jaber's comments. A spokesperson for COP28 told The Guardian: "The IEA and IPCC 1.5C scenarios clearly state that fossil fuels will have to play a role in the future energy system, albeit a smaller one. A "phase out" commitment would likely require a shift away from fossil fuels until their use is eliminated, while a "phase down" could indicate a reduction in their use — but not an absolute end.

Persons: John Kerry, Sean Gallup, Sultan Al, Jaber, Kerry, That's, CNBC's Tania Bryer, COP28 wasn't, COP28 Organizations: U.S, Getty, Getty Images, UNITED, EMIRATES —, The Guardian, Climate, COP28, United, Al, Guardian, United Arab Emirates, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: China, UAE, Nigeria, Dubai, Getty Images Dubai, EMIRATES — U.S, United Arab Emirates, Al, Abu Dhabi

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — With Planet Earth running a fever, U.N. climate talks focused Sunday on the contagious effects on human health. “Climate change doesn’t need to be on a death certificate for us to be confident that climate change is causing deaths,” Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, WHO’s head of climate and health, said. Dubai, the largest city in oil-rich United Arab Emirates, often faces higher levels of air pollution than other places on Earth due to its location — and haze is common. The Dubai government, on its web site devoted to the environment, listed its Air Quality Index level mostly at “good” on Sunday. Switzerland-based IQAir, a technology company that sells air-quality monitoring products, listed Dubai as the city with the 18th-worst air quality in the world with “moderate” air quality levels as of noon local time on Sunday.

Persons: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, ”, —, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, John Kerry, ” Kerry, Vanessa, Tedros, Diarmid Campbell, ” Diarmid Campbell, Jon Gambrell, Peter Prengaman Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Health Organization, Conference, WHO, United, Associated Press, AP Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, Dubai, U.N, —, U.S, United Arab Emirates, Persian, Switzerland

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States committed Saturday to the idea of phasing out coal power plants, joining 56 other nations in kicking the coal habit that's a huge factor in global warming. U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry announced that America was joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which means the Biden Administration commits to building no new coal plants and phasing out existing plants. The amount of coal burned in the United States last year is less than half what it was in 2008. The Powering Past Coal Alliance started six years ago and had 50 country members until Saturday when the United States and six others joined, said alliance spokeswoman Anna Drazkiewicz. "Joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance reiterates Kosovo’s clear commitment and ongoing efforts towards a socially just and clean energy sector.”___Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment.

Persons: John Kerry, Biden, “, ” Kerry, ”, Alden Meyer, mell, ” Meyer, Anna Drazkiewicz, Artane Rizvanolli, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Special, America, Past Coal Alliance, Biden Administration, U.S . Department of Energy, U.S . Energy Information Administration, The U.S, Past, Alliance, Twitter, AP Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, United States, U.S, China, India, pell, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Kosovo

People arrive to attend the Pledging Conference of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the First Replenishment in Paris, France, October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The United States will pledge $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, sources familiar with matter said on Saturday as Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Dubai for the U.N. climate summit. The fund, with more than $20 billion in pledges, is the largest international fund dedicated to supporting climate action in developing countries. The latest pledge, which Reuters was first to report, would be additional to another $2 billion previously delivered by the United States. In addition to supporting climate adaptation, the fund also finances projects to help countries shift to clean energy.

Persons: Pascal, Kamala Harris, Harris, replenishments, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Nandita Bose, Valerie Volcovici, William James, Elizabeth Piper, Katy Daigle, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Climate, REUTERS, Rights, Climate Fund, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, United, Dubai, United States, U.S, COP28

John Kerry, President Joe Biden's climate envoy, is expected to announce at COP28 a global strategy in nuclear fusion. If it is produced using renewables like wind or solar power, as opposed to fossil fuel generated power, it is called green hydrogen. Governments and companies think green hydrogen could be a way to clean up hard-to-decarbonize industries like steel and cement-making and other industrial manufacturing. PwC said technologies like green hydrogen and reducing food waste have relatively high emissions reduction potential, but are receiving a small share of start-up investment. In 2023, green hydrogen got 3.9% of global climate-tech venture funding, while food waste got 0.7%, it said.

Persons: PwC, John Kerry, Joe Biden's, David Schatsky, Schatsky, Timothy Gardner, Richard Valdmanis, Diane Craft Organizations: International Energy Agency, Fusion Industry Association, FIA, Companies, Deloitte, Entrepreneurship, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Olfus, Iceland, Dubai, United States, Texas, Louisiana, Australia, China, Germany, Japan, U.S, ASIA, AFRICA, France, India, Asia, Africa

☆ 22 Countries Pledge to Triple Nuclear Capacity in Push to Cut Fossil Fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Jenny Gross | More About Jenny Gross | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050, which would also help Europe reduce its dependence on Russia oil and gas, would require significant investment. In advanced economies, which have nearly 70 percent of global nuclear capacity, investments has stalled as construction costs have soared, projects have run over budget and faced delays. On top of cost, another hurdle to expanding nuclear capacity is that plants are slower to build than many other forms of power. President Emmanuel Macron of France said nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, was an “indispensable solution” to efforts to curb climate change. France, Europe’s biggest producer of nuclear power, gets about 70 percent of its own electricity from nuclear stations.

Persons: John Kerry, Biden’s, ”, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson Organizations: International Energy Agency, World Bank Locations: Russia, France, Sweden

☆ Biden and Xi are glaringly absent from the UN's climate summit. That doesn't bode well for the world.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

World leaders are gathering in the UAE for the COP28 climate change summit. But President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping of China will be absent. But the leaders of the world's biggest polluting nations — President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping — will be conspicuous by their absence. AdvertisementA man walks past a COP28 sign during the United Nations climate summit in Dubai on December 1, 2023. Xi and Biden are doing little to signal their commitment to sharing the burden of reducing the climate crisis equally by not attending the summit, say critics.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi, King Charles, Pope Francis, Xi Jinping, LUDOVIC MARIN, Biden, Kamala Harris, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Tom Evans, Evans, Sultan Al Jaber, Kerry Organizations: Service, United Arab Emirates, White, Sunday, US, Democratic, APEC, BBC, Climate, Business, Sierra Club Locations: UAE, China, United Nations, Dubai, Biden's, Xi, San Francisco

☆ Explainer-Can Technology Solve the Global Climate Crisis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

Persons: Timothy Gardner, PwC, John Kerry, Joe Biden's, David Schatsky, Schatsky, Richard Valdmanis, Diane Craft Organizations: Reuters, International Energy Agency, Fusion Industry Association, FIA, Companies, Deloitte, Entrepreneurship Locations: Dubai, United States, Texas, Louisiana, Australia, China, Germany, Japan, U.S, ASIA, AFRICA, France, India, Asia, Africa

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST ONEThe world has gotten hotter since last year’s conference in Egypt. Burning fossil fuels that sends carbon into the atmosphere remains the main cause of global warming, and production continues to grow. Climate campaigners say efforts to develop wind, solar and other alternative energies are not going fast enough. Global warming has vast implications: It can upend local economies, worsen weather patterns, drive people to migrate, and cause havoc for Indigenous peoples who want to retain their traditional cultures, among many other impacts. Many want to know if oil-rich Gulf states will pony up more money to help developing countries adapt to climate change and switch to greener technologies.

Persons: ”, Petteri Taalas, Daniel, Hurricane Otis pummeled, King Charles, Narendra Modi, John Kerry, Olaf Scholz, Pope Francis, Sultan al, Jaber, Antonio Guterres Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Hamas, United, 28th “ Conference, Hurricane Otis, Indian, Cargill, AP Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, Israel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, COP28, WHAT'S, Egypt, Brazil, India, Libya, Hurricane Otis pummeled Mexico, Europe, Paris, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, Tegucigalpa, Timbuktu, Ukraine, Gaza, Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay, ___

☆ Henry Kissinger was so revered in China that Xi Jinping personally called him an 'old friend' while snubbing Biden officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Henry Kissinger was so well-loved in China that Xi Jinping called him an "old friend" in July. China re-affirmed Xi's exact words in response to Kissinger's death on Wednesday. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . But it was Kissinger who was warmly received by China's Xi Jinping and his right-hand men in diplomacy, while top-level US officials came and went without a face-to-face meeting with the paramount leader. "The Chinese people never forget their old friends, and Sino-US relations will always be linked with the name of Henry Kissinger," Xi said.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, Xi Jinping, —, Biden, Kissinger, China's Xi Jinping, Xi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Gina Raimondo, John Kerry, Washington bristled, China's, Li Shangfu, Li, Lloyd Austin, John Kirby, Richard Nixon, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai Organizations: Service, State Department, of, National Security Locations: China, Beijing, Washington, United, Communist China

CNN —The United States is receiving criticism for contributing an “embarrassing” amount of money to a new climate fund adopted Thursday at the COP28 talks in Dubai, offering a pledge more than five times lower than the United Arab Emirates . Some countries pledged money to the fund right after it was agreed. Money from rich nations must now begin flowing into the fund, they said. Several wealthy nations, including the United States, have been reluctant to tie countries’ obligations to their historic emissions. It’s also been contentious because wealthy nations have expressed concern that paying for such a fund could be seen as admission of climate liability.

Persons: Sultan Al Jaber, ”, Ani Dasgupta, Dasgupta, ” “, ” Dasgupta, Mohamed Adow, ” Adow, “, Biden, John Kerry, ” Tom Evans, ” Evans, “ they’re, It’s, Al Jaber —, ADNOC —, Al Jaber Organizations: CNN, United, United Arab Emirates, World Bank, Japan, World Resources Institute, Republican, Republicans, US Locations: United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, Germany, UAE, COP28, Egypt

☆ China mourns Kissinger — ‘a most valued old friend’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“Farewell, old friend of the Chinese people,” said a top comment with thousands of likes. In July 1971, Kissinger became the first high-ranking US official to visit Communist China. Long after Kissinger left office, Beijing had regarded the well-connected diplomat as a potential helping hand in navigating the increasingly hawkish views towards China in Washington. State broadcaster CCTV called him a “living fossil” who witnessed the development of US-China relations. The tectonic shift in US-China relations that was formalized some eight years later opened the door for extensive economic engagement starting from the early 1980s.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, ”, Wang Wenbin, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Wang, “, Kissinger, Washington –, Richard Nixon’s, Scott Kennedy, Washington . Long, Xie Feng, centenarian, ” Xie, – Kissinger, Biden, Xi, John Kerry, Janet Yellen, Wang Yi, Nixon, Alfred Wu, Lee, ’, Wu, “ Kissinger, ” Wu, Zhou Enlai, Kennedy, China …, ” Kennedy Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China’s Foreign, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CCTV, Xinhua, Foreign, Lee Kuan Yew, of Public, National University of Singapore, Flying Tigers, CSIS Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Weibo, United States, Washington, Communist China, “ China, American, selfTaiwan, Japan, Soviet Union, Moscow

☆ Kissinger Left the State Department a Half Century Ago. But He Never Left His Old Job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( David E. Sanger | More About David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

When Henry Kissinger turned 100 this year, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken toasted him at one birthday celebration in New York, and the C.I.A. Mr. Kissinger spoke with Mr. Blinken regularly, including as recently as last month, Mr. Blinken said. The Kissinger conversations with secretaries of state and presidents were not only about navigating the downward spiral in relations with Beijing. But the reason his advice was sought out goes to the depth of his experience: When Mr. Kissinger died on Wednesday, Mr. Blinken was headed to Israel in an effort to win a longer pause in a bloody conflict. Mr. Kissinger had flown the same path, in November 1973, exactly 50 years ago, during his famous shuttle diplomacy.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, Antony J, Blinken, William J, Burns, Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Mike Pompeo, Xi Jinping, ”, ‘ Kissinger, ’, Xi, Richard M, Mr, Biden, Nicholas Burns, Eric Schmidt Organizations: Mr, United, U.S . Embassy, Google Locations: New York, Washington, China, United States, Xi’s, San Francisco, Beijing, Russia, Israel

☆ Henry Kissinger, a dominating and polarizing force in US foreign policy, dies at 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Paul Leblanc | Kristin Wilson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images Kissinger takes a call in his office in the early 1970s. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Kissinger talks with journalists on his way to meet with NATO foreign ministers. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Kissinger, second from left, walks with Leonid Brezhnev, secretary-general of the Soviet Communist Party, in 1973. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Kissinger looks out a window at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1975. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Kissinger is greeted by US Sen. John McCain after a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2015.

Persons: CNN — Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Henry Kissinger, Stephen Voss, Walter, Heinz Alfred Kissinger, Henry, William P, Rogers, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Tom Blau, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Warren Burger, Alamy Kissinger, Le Duc Tho, Tho, Wally McNamee, Corbis, Zhou Enlai, Leonid Brezhnev, Dirck Halstead, Gerald Ford, Nancy, pats, King David Hotel, David Hume Kennerly, Kirk Douglas, David, Elizabeth, Mikki Ansin, Diana Walker, Peter Southwock, Princess Diana, Colin Powell, Barbara Walters, Diana, David McNew, George W, Bush, Charles Dharapak, Christian Wulff, Stephan Schraps, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, John Kerry, Chip Somodevilla, US Sen, John McCain, Tom Williams, Ash Carter, Yin Bogu, Cui Tiankai, Zhang Chaoqun, Donald Trump, Jim Watson, Andrew Harnik, Maximilian, Daniel Vogl, Xi Jinping, Nixon’s, Reagan, ” Kissinger, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, ”, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, “, Lincoln, Bernie Sanders, Count, ” Sanders, Clinton, “ I’ve, Zakaria Organizations: CNN, Kissinger Associates, Bettmann, Getty, Harvard University, Harvard's Center for International Affairs, National Security Council, US Arms Control, Disarmament Agency, State Department, Camera, State, Chief, Everett, Inc, Paris Peace Accords, MPI, NATO, Soviet Communist Party, Hulton, King, Times Newspapers, Concord Academy, Senate Energy, Richard, US Diplomacy Center, US, Armed Services, Nixon Library, Museum, Capitol, Science, Arts, New York’s, Nazis, United States Army, Jewish, Pentagon, CBS News, Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Republican Party Locations: Nazi Germany, Connecticut, Washington , DC, Fürth, Germany, United States, Paris, Beijing, ITAR, Washington ,, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Jerusalem, Massachusetts, Boston, New York, Yorba Linda , California, Berlin, Xinhua, AFP, Bavarian, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Chile, Soviet, Saigon, Laos, New, Furth, Nazi, Soviet Union, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Fuerth

☆ Are the COP climate summits working? These countries are going to the courts, instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“It is a recipe for permanent climate chaos and suffering.”Yet the UN climate summit, known as COP, is tedious. Even fierce climate advocates who agree COP should be more ambitious still believe the summit is a powerful and worthwhile endeavor. “There is a lot of questioning whether this process will deliver or not,” Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of international climate nonprofit World Resources Institute, told CNN. In this June 2017 photo, President Donald Trump after announcing his intention to abandon the Paris Agreement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. Doug Mills/The New York Times/ReduxStill, former and current US negotiators say climate diplomacy has helped keep the world’s temperature from reaching truly alarming highs.

Persons: António Guterres, ” Guterres, Paris, Payam Akhavan, ” Akhavan, ” Ani Dasgupta, ’ COP’s, ”, Sue Biniaz, John Kerry, Frances F, Denny, Biniaz, ” Biniaz, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Jonathan Pershing, William, Flora Hewlett, Pershing, ” Pershing, “, Todd Stern, Jens Astrup, Stern, “ It’s, ” Stern, it’s, It’s, Margaretha Wewerinke, Singh, Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Peter Dejong, Hailey Campbell, ’ ”, Campbell Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Law, United, Resources Institute, Yale University, The New York Times, “, ”, White, New York Times, Kerry, Bella Center, Getty, US, Republicans, International Court of Justice Locations: Paris, Small, States, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Antigua, Barbuda, Dubai, COP28, United States, New Haven , Connecticut, Rose, Washington , DC, Copenhagen, AFP, Europe, Mississippi, Philippines, Sharm el, Sheikh, Egypt, Hawaii, Honolulu

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will join the U.S. delegation to Dubai for the annual United Nations conference on climate change, the White House said Wednesday. This weekend's trip for COP28 appears to have been hastily arranged, since her staff recently said she had no plans to attend. White House officials did not explain the change in plans, but the announcement comes after criticism of Joe Biden's decision to skip the summit. The White House said Biden spoke Wednesday with President Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting COP28. Her trip will be closely watched for reasons other than climate change.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's, He’s, Biden, Mohamed bin Zayed, Harris, ”, Antony Blinken, John Kerry, Ali Zaidi, John Podesta, Jordan Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, U.S, United Nations, White, United Arab Emirates, ”, The Associated Locations: Dubai, COP28, Africa, Washington, Arab, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian

☆ Biden to Skip U.N. Climate Summit, Drawing Grumbles From Environmentalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Sabrina Siddiqui | Scott Patterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The COP28 summit, which is expected to draw leaders from nearly 200 countries, is set to begin Thursday. Photo: Kamran Jebreili/Associated PressWASHINGTON—President Biden won’t attend a United Nations climate summit in Dubai this week, White House officials said, skipping an annual gathering of world leaders focused on addressing global warming. While the officials didn’t say why Biden is expected to miss the summit, known as COP28, other top administration officials, including John Kerry , Biden’s special envoy for climate change, will participate in the forum.

Persons: Kamran Jebreili, Biden won’t, Biden, John Kerry, Biden’s Organizations: Associated Press WASHINGTON, White Locations: Nations, Dubai

The White House said it was sending a climate team, including Special Envoy John Kerry, climate adviser Ali Zaidi and clean energy adviser John Podesta. Biden has called climate change the “ultimate threat to humanity.”Earlier this month, he released an assessment on the state of climate change in America and said the issue was impacting all regions in the U.S. “Not just some, all,” he said. “Anyone who willfully denies the impact of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future,” he said. Under his tenure, the U.S. passed the Inflation Reduction Act, America’s most significant response to climate change, and pushed toward more clean energy manufacturing. The act aims to spur clean energy on a scale that will bend the arc of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Persons: Joe Biden, John Kerry, Ali Zaidi, John Podesta, “, ”, Angelo Fernández Hernández, ” Biden, It's, al, Jaber, Biden Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, United Nations, “ Conference, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co Locations: Dubai, Africa, Ukraine, Israel, Eastern Europe, Abu Dhabi, America, U.S

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden is not expected to attend the opening of the global climate summit in Dubai this week, according to a White House schedule of the president’s events. Since taking office, Biden has attended the annual UN climate summit in person in 2021 and 2022. The move has the potential to frustrate climate advocates both at home and abroad, though some activists and small island nations have called into question the effectiveness of the annual international climate summit process. O’Hanlon said Sunrise Movement also has critiques of the international climate summit itself – which is itself embroiled in controversy as it is being hosted by the oil-rich United Arab Emirates this year. A July Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that 57% of Americans disapprove of the way Biden has handled climate policy, including 59% of voters 18-29 years old.

Persons: Joe Biden, John Kerry, Ali Zaidi, Biden, John Kirby, haven’t, Tom Evans, “ It’s, he’s, ” Evans, ”, Greta Thunberg, greenwashing ”, “ Biden, Stevie O’Hanlon, O’Hanlon, ” O’Hanlon, –, Donald Trump, John Podesta, Xi Jinping Organizations: Washington CNN, White, National Security, CNN, Sunrise Movement, Sunrise, United, Washington Post, University of Maryland, Republican, U.S, National Locations: Dubai, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Washington, China

President Biden will not attend a major United Nations climate summit that begins Thursday in Dubai, 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 Mr. Biden will not make an appearance at the two-week 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 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,” John Kerry, Mr. Biden’s special envoy for climate change, said last week. Mr. Kerry and his team will be in Dubai.

Persons: Biden, King Charles III, Pope Francis, “ They’ve, ” John Kerry, Biden’s, Kerry Organizations: White Locations: United Nations, Dubai, Israel, Ukraine

Fusion could have an important advantage over today's nuclear fission plants that split atoms, as it does not produce long-lasting radioactive waste. The former secretary of state will announce his plan to lay out the strategy - which foresees commercialization within years, not decades - on Monday on a tour of fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems near Boston. "I will have much more to say on the United States’ vision for international partnerships for an inclusive fusion energy future at COP28," Kerry said in a statement. Some critics say fusion will be too expensive and take too long to develop to help in the fight against climate change in the foreseeable future. In 2023, international fusion companies have garnered about $1.4 billion in investments for a total of about $6.21 billion in mostly private money, the Fusion Industry Association said, down from about $2.83 billion in new investment last year.

Persons: John Kerry, Kerry, Claudio Descalzi, Valerie Volcovici, Timothy Gardner, Jan Harvey Organizations: Eni, WASHINGTON, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Fusion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Commonwealth, United, U.S, National, Fusion Industry Association, FIA, Thomson Locations: U.S, Dubai , U.S, Boston, California, United States, COP28, Germany, Japan, China, Australia

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