Report: Chinese president to miss UN climate summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to skip the United Nations climate change summit in New York this month.

According to two U.N. diplomats, who asked not to be identified, Xi, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon they would not attend the Sept. 23, event, Bloomberg reports.

{mosads}The daylong meeting of world leaders is meant to build momentum for 2015 talks in Paris, where the U.N. will work with 120 nations to sign a global climate change treaty to cut emissions.

The Hill previously reported that India’s prime minister planned to miss the summit, but U.N. climate change director Christiana Figueres originally expected China’s president would attend.

The absence of two of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters is likely to worry other nations, which expect China and India to lead in negotiations along with the U.S. It also undercuts the effectiveness of the September meeting.

In July, the White House said President Obama will join global leaders at the New York summit.

China is the world’s top greenhouse gas emitter, and India is the third, coming in after the U.S.