The Trump administration is bailing on a climate summit in Bonn, Germany, that has long served as a stepping stone to broader international talks later in the year.
The State Department confirmed the decision not to send a delegation to the Bonn meeting next week, but did not offer a reason. It will be the first time the United States has not had some presence at the climate talks since they began 30 years ago, when they were first held in Geneva.
The move is the latest sign the U.S. is stepping back from global climate negotiations. President Donald Trump announced in January that he was exiting the Paris climate agreement, a pact among nearly 200 nations to limit global warming.
Since then, the U.S. has skipped several related international meetings, including the U.N. Ocean Conference, now ongoing, and the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, held in March. As the State Department evaluates America’s continued participation in other international treaties and organizations, it already has announced it’s eliminating the Office of Global Change, which oversaw international climate change negotiations.
