In April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio closed the State Department’s Office of Global Change and dismissed its staff. This office had managed international diplomacy related to climate issues. Despite this change, American participants are still expected at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, though they will not be representing the federal government.
Philip Rossetti, a resident senior fellow on energy at R Street Institute, explained that many attendees at these conferences do not officially represent their governments. “You might have attendees that aren’t necessarily representing the administration or the government, but they still might … be able to open up dialogue.” He added, “You have a lot of people who aren’t actually affiliated [with the] government,” and noted that many attend to take part in public events and network with others interested in climate policy.
Rossetti also discussed challenges facing global climate efforts. “One of the challenges is that, even though the United States is the second largest emitter, there are very few commitments from the world’s largest emitter, which is China,” he said. He further stated, “So, from a kind of strategic perspective…the U.S. just doesn’t want to do anything if it’s going to put it in a worse position, both economically and strategically, vis-à-vis China.”
While China did not send an official delegation to COP29 in November 2024, state media reported in April that President Xi Jinping intends to submit new climate and emission targets for 2035 ahead of COP30 as required by signatories of the Paris Agreement.
