Congress at COP26 Tracker: Members of Congress and Other U.S. Officials at the 2021 U.N. Climate Summit | Article

The Congressional delegation to the Glasgow climate summit (COP26) was the largest yet and included Speaker Nancy Pelosi and senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle. It is significant that U.S. federal legislators were at COP26 as Congress has an essential role in developing new policies and funding new investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience at home and abroad. A 20-staffer-strong bipartisan and bicameral Congressional staff delegation also attended COP26, led by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Congressional delegation included six House committee chairs and one House committee ranking member as well as eight Senate committee chairs and one Senate committee ranking member. Members who attended COP26 represent 27 states.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres meets with a Congressional Delegation. Credit: UNFCCC Flickr

44 members of Congress attended COP26

House Democratic Delegation:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
Representative Don Beyer (D-Va.), Chair, Joint Economic Committee
Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)
Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
Representative Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.)
Representative Julia Brownley (D-Calif.)
Representative Sean Casten (D-Ill.)
Representative Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Representative Veronica Escobar (D-Tex.)
Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.)
Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Chair, Committee on Natural Resources
Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)
Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), Chair, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Representative Bill Keating (D-Mass.)
Representative Mike Levin (D-Calif.)
Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.)
Representative Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Representative Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
Representative Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Chair, Committee on Energy and Commerce
Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)

House Republican Delegation:

Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas)
Representative John Curtis (R-Utah)
Representative Garret Graves (R-La.), Ranking Member, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa)

Bipartisan Senate Delegation:

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)
Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chair, Committee on Environment and Public Works
Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chair, Special Committee on Aging
Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chair, Select Committee on Ethics
Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chair, Committee on the Judiciary
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.Mex.), Chair, Joint Economic Committee
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.)
Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Ranking Member, Committee on Indian Affairs
Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.)
Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.)
Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chair, Committee on Indian Affairs
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chair, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Credit: UNFCCC Flickr

Other notable U.S. federal officials who attended COP26 in-person or gave virtual remarks include:

President Joe Biden
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry
White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan
U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power
Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Deputy Director for Climate and Environment Jane Lubchenco

Governors, mayors, and other state officials from California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington were also at COP26.

This article is a result of our own observations from COP26 events, press releases, and news stories, and we may have inadvertently missed U.S. officials at COP26.

Compiled by: Savannah Bertrand