US Vice President Kamala Harris to attend COP28

US Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on behalf of President Joe Biden, the White House said on Wednesday.

Harris will be in Dubai on December 1-2, the White House said in a statement.

A White House official said that beyond the climate agenda, the US Vice President will likely engage with leaders at the summit on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The US delegation will also include Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, and dozens of senior US officials representing more than 20 departments and agencies, according to the White House.

Kerry said on Wednesday the US will work with China to make the United Nations climate negotiations that begin in the UAE this week a success. Cooperation between the US and China, the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, is seen as crucial to securing consensus at the summit.

The US supports creating a new fund to help poor countries deal with climate-caused damage but wants the deal to make clear no country will be obliged to pay into it. It also supports a COP28 deal calling to phase out CO2-emitting fossil fuel use.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are among the leaders expected to attend the event that begins on Thursday.

It had been reported earlier in the week that US President Joe Biden would not be going to the UAE.