ISTANBUL

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on Thursday criticized the US decision not to send a senior delegation to the UN COP30 climate change summit, set for Nov. 10-21 in Brazil.

"I regret that the United States is not there. I think the United States should have been around that table," Store told broadcaster NRK.

He, however, noted that there could be great opportunities even without the US.

"It doesn't fall apart because the US isn't there. The EU must take a bigger role, Norway must take a bigger role, and we must work with China," Store said.

He also described the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement "negative."

"Without the Paris Agreement, we would have been in a much more serious place," Store warned.

The UN COP30 climate change summit, set for Nov. 10-21 in Brazil, will focus on turning previous pledges into concrete action and boosting financial support for vulnerable countries, as geopolitical strains and trade disputes continue to test global cooperation to fight the climate crisis.

Hosted for the first time in the Amazon Basin, the conference is expected to draw nearly 50,000 participants to Belem, a city of 1.4 million facing significant logistical pressure ahead of the gathering.

To ease that strain, Brazil will hold the leaders’ segment — the Belem Climate Summit — on Thursday and Friday, several days before formal COP negotiations begin. Leaders typically attend the start of COP talks, making the shift a break from previous years.

The US — one of the world’s largest emitters — is not expected to send a senior delegation. The limited presence is linked to President Donald Trump’s earlier withdrawal of the country from the Paris Agreement and continued policies supportive of fossil fuels. Trump has repeatedly denied the existence of climate change, calling it a “Chinese hoax.”