China, US officials set to discuss climate change amid fears over Donald Trump’s policies

Ahead of Cop 29 in Azerbaijan, policymakers fret that the once and future president could stall efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions

Reading Time:3 minutes

Climate activists project a message onto Tower Bridge in London, England, bearing a silhouette of US President-elect Donald Trump ahead of climate talks in the British capital on November 7, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:55am, 8 Nov 2024Updated: 10:56pm, 8 Nov 2024

State-level and other subnational officials from the US and China are expected to meet in Azerbaijan next week at a key multinational forum to address climate change amid concerns that Donald Trump’s re-election could jeopardise global inroads on the issue.

Senior officials from several American states including California, Maryland and Washington will join their mainland counterparts at the US-China Subnational Climate Leaders Dialogue on the sidelines of the annual United Nations climate summit in Baku, according to people familiar with the event.

The working-level dialogue is hosted by America Is All In and the US Climate Alliance, coalitions formed after Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change.

The UN summit, also known as Cop29, comes days after Trump’s victory and affords the earliest opportunity for climate-change policymakers and experts from around the world to discuss how their agenda might advance under the coming administration.

Trump, who served as US president from 2017 to 2021, has called global warming a hoax. Photo: Reuters

The former US president, who served from 2017 to 2021, has dismissed global warming as a hoax. During his recent campaign for the White House, Trump promised to boost fossil-fuel production if re-elected.