Rubio eliminates office that oversees climate talks [View all]
Source: Politico
Thu, April 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM EDT
The State Department is eliminating the Office of Global Change, which oversees international climate change negotiations for the United States.
Staff were told about the move verbally Thursday afternoon, according to three people who were granted anonymity to speak about the decision to avoid reprisal. The news thrust the office into chaos and raised questions among staff about when the office would be permanently shuttered.
“This will hamstring international climate cooperation at the worst possible time,” said one official, referring to the upcoming global climate talks called COP30. It’s “just strategically fucking dumb when it comes to China,” that person added, saying the move would leave a leadership vacuum that China could fill.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed that the office is being eliminated to comply with President Donald Trump’s directives to cease participation in international agreements. “Consequently, this office — which supported the efforts of previous Administrations to hobble the United States through participation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and other agreements purporting to limit [or] prevent climate change, is unnecessary,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/24/rubio-eliminates-climate-office-00308505
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