Why Trump isn’t attending Climate Summit Talks at the UN?

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The U.S President Donald Trump will not attend major climate summit talks at the United Nations on Monday. A UN official said Trump missed talks because of chairing his own meeting on religious freedom. The move is the latest indication the president has little interest in addressing climate change despite vast global climate protests, including 800 events held in the United States. 60 representatives from around the world, including the UK prime minister, are set to be making pledges on climate action at the UN meeting next week. A senior official also confirmed that the U.S president had booked a large meeting room relatively last minute on the same day for an event called Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom.

Trump has a poor record when it comes to the environment and has previously vowed to pull the U.S out of the Paris climate agreement. The UN authorities said it was unlikely Trump would engage with other representatives on how to deal with the climate crisis in any case. But, the move to create a different event scheduled for the same time has proved provocative. The former Irish president Mary Robinson said, “He won’t go to the climate summit and he wants the distraction factor, I suppose”. The White House press secretary said in a statement that Trump would be introduced by Vice President Mike Pence at the event on protecting religious freedom. It is a major issue that was considered important to the president’s Christian voter base”.

The White House spokesperson said, “The president is working to broaden international support for ongoing efforts to protect religious freedom in the wake of increasing persecution of people on the basis of their beliefs and a growing number of attacks on and destruction of houses of worship by state and non-state actors”. A U.S state department spokesperson informed that climate change is a complex global challenge.  The United States supports a balanced approach that promotes economic growth and improves energy security while protecting the environment.