Blinken, Power To Skip Cop29 In Azerbaijan

The U.S. delegation at this year's COP 29 summit in Azerbaijan will be led by Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, John Podesta, and it will not include Secretary of State Antony Blinken, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The State Department said on Thursday that from senior Biden-Harris Administration officials from more than 20 U.S. departments, agencies, and organizations will travel to Baku Nov 11-22, to "highlight U.S. leadership on tackling the climate crisis and to work towards strong negotiated outcomes at the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference"

Beyond Podesta, other senior officials in the U.S. delegation include:

• Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
• Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of Energy
• Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and White House National Climate Advisor
• Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality
• David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy
• Laura Daniel-Davis, Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior
• Jane Nishida, Acting Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Rick Spinrad, Ph.D, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security

"In addition to those listed above, the U.S. delegation will include a wide range of other U.S. government officials working on how climate change relates to armed conflict, finance, food security, gender, global health, trade and investment, youth issues, and more," the State Department said.

TURAN notes that this year's delegation will not include Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power, both of which had been present at COP 28 (Dubai) and COP 27 (Egypt).

The move comes just weeks after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev publicly picked up on the State Department accusing Secretary Blinken of "drafting a letter" on behalf of the Congressional members and "pressuring" Azerbaijan, following a group of U.S. lawmakers' letter criticizing Baku's human rights record.

The State Department, in response, told TURAN on Oct 8 that the U.S. valued its bilateral relationship with Azerbaijan.  "Our cooperation with Azerbaijan to help make COP29 a success and advance shared climate and energy goals is an example of what we can achieve when we work together,"  a State Department Spokesperson told TURAN early this month.