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US and China, World's Worst Polluters, Won't Discuss Climate Change at Summit

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Thursday and Friday to discuss North Korea and trade, but will refrain from discussing another extremely pressing issue: climate change.

China and the U.S. are the world’s worst polluters, together producing nearly half of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions—and the leaders’ failure to discuss the climate crisis comes as frightening signs show the planet is on the verge of disaster.

Environmental news site E&E News observes that the meeting marks an enormous sea change in U.S.-China relations on the issue:

“I think that is a lost opportunity if [the topic of climate change is] not raised,” Barbara Finamore, founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s China program, told The Independent. “For many years, this issue was one of the brighter spots of the U.S.-China relationship, and it helped to build dialogue.”

But under the climate change-denying Trump administration, U.S. participation in international climate talks appears doubtful.

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