Harris heads to Dubai to tackle delicate tasks of talking climate and Israel-Hamas war

WASHINGTON — PLS action upon Harris' departure, expected Friday around 8 a.m

Vice President Kamala Harris will tackle two delicate tasks this weekend in Dubai: She will try to demonstrate American leadership on the environment despite President Joe Biden's notable absence from an annual summit on climate change, and she will work to boost fragile efforts to shape the next phase of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Harris has only a brief window of opportunity to achieve both goals while she is in the United Arab Emirates. She leaves Washington on Friday and will appear only briefly at the United Nations conference known as COP28. Like most vice presidents, Harris is expected to adhere strictly to the administration's talking points on controversial issues where any disagreements could ricochet around the world.

Her public comments, however limited, will be closely watched.

Activists are enthusiastic about any boost in the fight against climate change, which experts warn falls short of what is needed to prevent harmful global warming. And Harris will be the highest-ranking US official to visit an Arab nation since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, where anti-American sentiment has been fueled by Washington's support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

Administration officials said Harris will deliver remarks at the climate summit on Saturday and hold bilateral meetings with regional leaders.

But details about her schedule remain scarce and the trip appears to have been hastily arranged. Just last week, Harris' aides said she had no plans to attend the climate conference known as COP28. White House officials did not explain the change in plans.

Biden attended the last two UN summits, held in Scotland and Egypt, but disappointed some environmentalists by his decision to skip them.

Manish Bapna, head of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said it is “so important” that Harris will attend on behalf of the president and his administration.

“She represents concrete American progress – from significant investments in clean cars and clean energy to cracking down on dirty power plants,” Bapna said. “There is still a lot of work to do to capture and build on that progress – but it is a complete turnaround from where we were even a year ago.”

The meeting in Dubai will be the first to assess how well the world is doing in its fight against global warming. Known as the 'stock take', countries will examine their progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement, seeing how much they have fallen short and how best to make up the lost ground.

“We don't expect major political breakthroughs that will lead to new agreements,” said Joseph Majkut, director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

However, he said that determining the best way to measure progress – a contentious issue in the world of global climate politics – and to collectively grapple with adapting to climate change are still “relatively important.”

While Biden has faced some criticism for missing COP28, Robert Stavins, a Harvard University professor who regularly attends climate conferences, said his absence will not have a substantial impact.

“The meat of the negotiations” has already taken place, he said, and all that remains for leaders to do is “essentially participate in a photo op.”

He added that the main goal should be for the US and China to rebuild their partnership on climate change, which was crucial to the Paris Agreement but has lapsed in recent years. Stavins said that “any lack of cooperation on climate change is collateral damage of our legitimate differences” on issues such as trade, intellectual property and the South China Sea.

U.S. officials said they are confident in the progress made under Biden, especially in the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, which included hundreds of millions of dollars in financial incentives for clean energy.

“The urgency of this challenge is clear, but so is our ambition,” said John Podesta, Biden's senior adviser on climate issues. He added that “we go to Dubai with confidence that the United States is on track to achieve our climate goals and do our part to build a clean, safe and just future for the entire world.”

The vice president will announce several initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support multi-country adaptation of plans and efforts to increase climate resilience, senior administration officials said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Special Envoy John Kerry and climate advisor Ali Zaidi are also present.

There is still criticism of the board. A report from the activist Center for Biological Diversity says that while new initiatives in the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce nearly 1 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2030, 17 different oil and gas projects the government has approved will reduce 1.6 billion tons of would add emissions. .

Administration officials said they are required by law to approve the fossil fuel projects, which are tied to leases from energy companies.

Harris also plans to use the trip to discuss the Israel-Hamas war with key leaders in the region – a rare opportunity for her to personally participate in one of the most precarious foreign policy challenges facing the White House is confronted.

The discussions come at a key time as fighting resumes, ending a fragile truce that had lasted a week while Hamas released the hostages it has been holding in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. US diplomats were involved in efforts to extend the pause in the fighting to free additional hostages, including Americans.

Harris' involvement could also have political resonance at home. She is focusing on reaching younger voters who are skeptical about granting Biden another term, and are also more likely to be critical of U.S. support for Israel.

Although Biden has used the phone to speak with Arab leaders, he was unable to sit down with some of them during a trip to the region in October. The president originally planned to visit both Jordan and Israel in October, but the Jordan stop was scrapped amid controversy over an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip.

Although Hamas authorities initially blamed Israel, further analysis – including by The Associated Press – indicated that a failed Palestinian rocket was the cause.