State Department officials won't participate in next week's meeting of the top UN climate science panel, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
Why it matters: A U.S. absence from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting in Hangzhou, China, would leave the country out of conversations for the group's next influential reports.
- It would accompany President Trump's decision, for the second time, to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement.
The big picture: The IPCC is considered the most authoritative source of global climate science information.
- Its next series of reports — its seventh since the group was founded in 1988 — is expected to be completed by 2029.
- The IPCC, which involves hundreds of scientists from around the world and government representatives, is intended to inform policymakers of the latest scientific findings.
State of play: The State Department delegation's plans to travel to China for the meeting have been denied, sources said.
- The contract for the technical support unit was also recently terminated by NASA, meaning it will also not be traveling to China or supporting the IPCC process moving forward, sources said.
- State declined to comment. NASA officials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Driving the news: The IPCC is set to meet in China Feb. 24–28 to determine the scope and focus of its next series of reports.
- The IPCC is also working on a methodology special report for carbon removal technology and carbon capture use and storage.
- The U.S. had an obligation to provide technical support for the assessment, but State's technical support team will also be absent.
Zoom out: The IPCC's reports have proven to be highly influential, and the group shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
- The organization's 2018 report on limiting global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels boosted that goal's standing in international negotiations and helped spur a global youth protest movement to act more quickly.
What we're watching: Chinese government representatives as well as UN climate officials will be at the meeting, along with government delegations from the more than 195 other member nations.
- However, this could be the beginning of a bigger withdrawal from U.S. involvement in international climate science work.
- During his first term, Trump did not interfere in U.S. IPCC engagement, although the U.S. did withdraw from the Paris Agreement.