Kamala Harris to Join US Delegation to COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai

Vice President Kamala Harris will join the US delegation to Dubai for the annual United Nations conference on climate change, the White House has said.

Vice President Kamala Harris will join the US delegation to Dubai for the annual United Nations conference on climate change, the White House has announced. The announcement comes after criticism of President Joe Biden's decision to skip the summit. Harris' participation in the two-week conference will be brief, and she is scheduled to leave Washington on Friday and return Sunday.

The Trip Appears to Have Been Hastily Arranged

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 Wednesday's announcement comes after criticism of Joe Biden's decision to skip the summit. He's also no longer expected to make a promised trip to Africa before the end of the year.

The Summit Is an Opportunity for World Leaders to Assess Progress

The summit is an opportunity for world leaders to assess their progress — or lack thereof — in the fight against global warming. Harris' participation in the conference will be closely watched for reasons other than climate change. She's the highest-ranking US leader to visit an Arab nation since the war between Israel and Hamas began almost two months ago.

Biden Had Originally Planned to Visit Jordan as Well as Israel

Biden had originally planned to visit Jordan as well as Israel in October, but the stop was scrapped amid controversy over an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip. Although the blast was initially blamed on Israel by Hamas authorities, further analysis — including by The Associated Press — indicated that a misfired Palestinian rocket was the cause.

Vice President Kamala Harris' participation in the COP28 climate summit in Dubai will be brief, but it will be closely watched for reasons other than climate change. She is the highest-ranking US leader to visit an Arab nation since the war between Israel and Hamas began almost two months ago. Her trip comes after criticism of President Joe Biden's decision to skip the summit.