(CNN) — The Trump administration does not intend to send a high-level delegation to the COP30 climate summit — or possibly any delegation at all. But that doesn’t mean the country’s influence won’t be felt at the talks.

As nations prepare to gather in Belém, Brazil, for the negotiations, which begin on Thursday with the leaders summit, the US is set to play the part of the elephant in the room. Even operating from afar, the US could have the power to blow up a deal in Belém. The Trump administration has recently taken aggressive stances to try to influence other countries’ climate policies, mainly by threatening hostile trade measures.

The US has estranged itself from official international climate negotiation processes while simultaneously exerting pressure on trading partners to wat

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