U.S. President Joe Biden is set to miss a United Nations roundtable on climate action Wednesday afternoon in New York, stoking concern that other G-7 leaders will also forgo the session meant to help pave the way for international global warming negotiations later this year.
The expected absence of Biden served to underscore a warning that came Tuesday in the speech that opened the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. “The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time. It must be the first priority of every government and multilateral organization,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “And yet climate action is being put on the back burner — despite overwhelming public support around the world.”
The closed-door meeting slated for Wednesday, to be hosted by Guterres and the president of Egypt, is meant as an informal exchange on climate matters ahead of the U.N.’s November climate summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Biden is expected to host a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria event at the same time, according to people familiar with the matter. White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
