WHY BIDEN'S ABSENCE AT COP28 WOULD DAMAGE US'S CLIMATE CREDIBILITY

BY VICTOR ODHIAMBO

There is a high likelihood US President Joe Biden will not attend this year's COP. Sources at the White House say the climate meeting is not in his diary. This could also change in coming days.

Biden's absence at COP28 sends a strong signal to the world, especially countries on the climate frontline.

Firstly, it shows the US is not taking climate change talks seriously. As the largest economy in the world and one of the biggest polluters, the US presence would help to influence the outcome of the talks and to set the pace for #ClimateAction.

Secondly, it coincides with recent declarations by its leadership that point to a country not keen to honour its climate commitments. But this development is not surprising at all.  

In July this year, US's climate envoy John Kerry, while appearing before a subcommittee of Congress, indicated that the US will, under no circumstances, pay climate reparations to vulnerable nations. Coming from America's most senior climate envoy, this was a major setback for climate diplomacy.

Thirdly, in 2020 under the Trump administration, the US withdrew from the Paris Agreement. 

Fourthly, the country has not met its emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. That the US has recently approved 9000 new leases for oil drilling is a slap in the face of efforts to transition from #FossilFuels to #renewables. 

Additionally, at 6,430, President biden granted more drilling permits during his first two years in office than Donald Trump (6,172).

Biden's absence at the highest level of climate talks in the world undermines the US's credibility as a true leader on climate action. 

The US is a historical polluter. It is the second biggest polluter in the world after China, with 5 billion metric tonnes of carbon emitted annually. The country has also emitted more greenhouse gases than any other country since the Industrial Revolution. 

As the world's leading oil producer, the US has vested interests in maintaining the status quo. Consequently, this makes it harder for the US to influence its developed peers to take climate action, including providing #climatefinance. It also takes away its moral authority to persuade other nations to pursue sustainable development.