Senior officials of the Biden-Harris Administration representing more than 20 United States Agencies, Departments and Organizations will soon be traveling to Baku, in Azerbaijan in the mission to highlight Washington’s leadership on tackling the climate crisis.
An official dispatch from the U.S department of state to The Tanzania Times reveals that the delegation gets to travel to Azerbaijan between 11 and 22 November 2024 where they will also work towards strong negotiated outcomes at the 2024 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP 29).
The delegation from the United States will be led by Senior Advisor to the U.S President for International Climate Policy, John Podesta.
Other senior officials in the United States Mission to Baku include the Assistant to the President and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi; the Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas Vilsack and the Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm.
The U.S team also consists of the Chairperson of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory, Deputy Secretary of Energy, David Turk, Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Laura Daniel-Davis and the Acting Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Jane Nishida.
There is also the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rick Spinrad, Ph.D, and the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins.
In addition to those listed above, the delegation from the United States will include a wide range of other American government officials working on how climate change relates to armed conflict, finance, food security, gender, global health, trade and investment, youth issues, and more.
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024, is meant to accelerate global action to tackle the climate crisis.
With global temperatures hitting record highs, and extreme weather events affecting people around the world, COP29 gathers together leaders from governments, business and civil society to advance concrete solutions to the defining issue of our time.
The main focus of COP29 will be on finance, as trillions of dollars are required for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change.
The conference will also be a key moment for countries to present their updated national climate action plans under the Paris agreement, which are due by early 2025.
If executed properly, these plans will limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and double as investment plans advancing the Sustainable Development Goals