The Big Story 

The absence of U.S. leaders and the Trump administration’s broader retreat from climate action is expected to loom over this year’s COP30 summit.

© AP

COP30, the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference that kicks off Monday in Belém, Brazil, is an annual gathering of nations to work on the future of climate action.

The U.S. — which is the largest historic greenhouse gas emitter and currently has the second-most emissions, behind only China — has said it does not plan to send any “high level representatives” to the conference.

Administration officials have not answered follow-up questions about whether they plan to send any representation that would not be considered “high level.”

The White House has noted that President Trump is engaging with world leaders on energy in other ways, including deals to buy fossil fuels from the U.S. 

Jennifer Haverkamp, a former U.S. climate negotiator, told The Hill that the U.S.’s absence “will inevitably be felt.”

Read more at TheHill.com.

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