12 top U.S. officials to join Biden at major climate conference

The Biden administration will send a host of Cabinet and other top officials to the international climate conference in Glasgow next month, in addition to the president himself, a White House official confirmed to The Hill. 

Joining President Biden will be two top climate aides and officials: special climate envoy John Kerry and national climate adviser Gina McCarthy. 

In addition, they’ll be joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Rick Spinrad and White House Office of Science and Technology policy director Eric Lander.

The attendees were first reported by CNN, which obtained a schedule, and were confirmed to The Hill by a White House official. 

At the Glasgow conference, known as COP26, countries are expected to negotiate the future of climate action. 

Biden has sought to demonstrate U.S. leadership on the issue, announcing in April that the U.S. would aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by 2030 when compared to 2005 levels.

But there are questions about whether the U.S. can live up to its commitments, especially as the White House and Congress struggle to get a spending package — which has major investments to tackle climate change — across the finish line.