A bipartisan group of senators will no longer attend the COP30 global climate talks due to the government shutdown.
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) had ambitions to serve as a Republican presence at the climate conference, which is set to kick off in Belém, Brazil, in the coming days. But a planned delegation led by Curtis and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) is now off, according to both senators’ offices.
“Senator Curtis has long believed that America’s energy future must be affordable, reliable, and clean. In the past, he has attended global conferences to ensure that conservative solutions are not only part of the conversation—but leading it,” said Curtis spokesperson Adam Cloch.
“While this shutdown has temporarily grounded travel, it won’t stop the Senator from continuing to advocate for practical, principled energy policy at home and abroad,” he added.
Prior to the cancellation, Curtis was the only elected Republican confirmed to be stopping by Brazil for the conference. The Trump administration has not yet announced a delegation to COP, and President Donald Trump has been hostile to global climate talks in the past months.
Curtis — who attended COP last year — said last month that at least three Republican senators had expressed interest in joining him for the conference.
Had he attended the conference, Curtis told POLITICO’s E&E News that he hoped to put forward the “conservative perspective” on fighting climate change, and to promote solutions like nuclear energy.
“If not careful, conservatives come across as deniers, not caring. And so it’s important for me that I show — ‘Hey, we do care, and these are our ideas,’” Curtis told E&E News.
The government shutdown has also thrown a wrench in Environment and Public Works ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse’s plans to attend the conference.
The Rhode Island Democrat has long been a face at COP talks, but he said last week that the shutdown will likely make it logistically impossible for him to travel to Belém in an official capacity.
