China Rules Out Hosting Cop33 Climate Summit in 2028
The Facts
- China has ruled out hosting the Cop33 U.N. climate summit in 2028 after months of deliberations, the Guardian reported Thursday. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said he would have supported a Chinese bid, calling the decision "too bad."
- Under U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change rotation rules, an Asian country should host in 2028. India weighed a bid earlier this year before dropping it, while Uzbekistan, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand are reportedly among those considering offers.
- Several experts told the Guardian that the U.S. electoral cycle likely factored into the decision. Cop33 runs Nov. 6-17, 2028, while the U.S. presidential election falls on Nov. 7, with Donald Trump to remain in office until the following January.
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The Spin
Pro-China narrative
Passing up hosting Cop33 is an unfortunate missed opportunity to show that real climate leadership has shifted east. Renewables now outstrip coal in the region, while electric vehicles made up nearly two-thirds of recent sales and clean energy drove more than 90% of investment growth last year — a record that deserves the global stage. With Washington abandoning the Paris agreement, Beijing could comfortably pick up the reigns.
Anti-China narrative
Handing the climate stage to the nation building an estimated 93% of the world's new coal plants would turn Cop into pure theater. The hypocrisy of proposing Beijing lead global discussion on sustainability is an insult to the whole process.
Climate-concerned narrative
Decades of jet-fueled conferences have delivered vague pledges and no binding commitments, with Cop30 ending in a call for collective effort that is yet to materialize. These summits are already performative, with nations unwilling to make material change, and successive governments passing the buck to the next administration. Politicians must act — climate change is an existential crisis.
