- Countries have a chance to use this week's U.N. meetings in New York to resolve big differences over boosting the world's annual goal for climate finance, but uncertainty over the U.S. election could jeopardize progress ahead of the next U.N. climate summit in November.
Governments are analyzing different scenarios for possible wins by Vice President Kamala Harris, who along with President Joe Biden helped pass the biggest domestic climate spending bill in U.S. history, or by former President Donald Trump, a climate denier who wants to boost fossil fuels. They're also considering a third scenario with the U.S. in limbo for months over an uncertain or delayed election result.
Failing to set a new target before the start of 2025 could jeopardize future climate negotiations, warned a senior official with Azerbaijan's COP29 presidency.Regardless of who wins the U.S. vote, this year's U.S. climate negotiators are already limited in what they can pledge, although a Harris presidency would ensure more continuity.
Trump, on the other hand, has vowed to again withdraw from the Paris Agreement, as well as from the overarching U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change that runs global climate efforts and negotiations among its 198 member states. Only a handful of countries have shunned the UNFCCC, including Iran, Libya and Yemen.Given that U.S. elections and U.N. climate summits both fall in November, this year's election uncertainty is hardly unique.