U.N. Secretary General António Guterres told world leaders at the opening of the Belém Climate Summit on Thursday that the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP) "must ignite a decade of acceleration and delivery."
The Trump administration is not participating in the talks. During a speech to the United Nations this year, President Donald Trump called climate change the "greatest con job" ever perpetrated on the world.
"All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong," he said. "They were made by stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success. If you don't get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail."
Though Craig Rucker, president of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), is also not concerned about climate change, he says it is important for people to pay attention to what happens at the conference and to hear from skeptics.
"Though it may not be the threat, it is a major threat to our livelihood, standard of living, jobs, and even American sovereignty," Rucker tells AFN. "Literally everything is pretty much touched by climate change policy."
For example, these talks in Brazil will include a carbon tax for people who take flights. Agriculture is also expected to be discussed, which could change dietary policies and the ongoing push for wind and solar energy to replace fossil fuels.
That, Rucker warns, can and will impact electricity supply and pricing.
Regarding the negotiations as "serious," he says CFACT is sending a delegation to attend the sessions and dialogue with people, urging them to follow America's lead.
Meanwhile, Rucker expects this international gathering, which lasts until Nov. 21, to have a large carbon footprint, much like other meetings in the past. For starters, many attendees fly private, not commercial, even though they blame airlines for emissions.
Attendees also eat a lot of regular meat instead of the plant-based products that are recommended as a way of reducing emissions and helping the environment.
