The U.N. Climate Summit Will Be Awkward, But This Colorado Advocate Remains Hopeful

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Photo: Iceberg. Climate Change, Global Warming
An iceberg floats past Bylot Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Monday, July 24, 2017. Glaciers have been melting, calving off icebergs, and retreating at an accelerated pace in recent years due to warmer global temperatures.

Think your holiday dinner table talk was rough?

That'll be nothing compared to the group of world leaders gathering in Poland next month to hammer out additional details of a global climate deal known as the Paris Agreement.

The awkward part is that the United States now intends to back out of the accord, even as the U.S. plans on sending diplomats to the U.N. climate summit. There will also be private citizens in attendance, including Paul Bodna, the managing director of clean-energy think tank The Rocky Mountain Institute.

Bodnar has attended nine of these U.N. summits, and helped negotiate the Paris Climate Agreement under the Obama administration. Bodnar talked to Colorado Matters about the complications caused by the Trump administration, but why he remains hopeful.