{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story  Biden won't attend this year's climate summit President Biden won't attend this year's COP29 climate summit, according to a White House official. © The Hill, Greg NashA White House official confirmed to The Hill that Biden won't attend the summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, this year. This is Biden's second year skipping the conference after attending during the first two years of his presidency.   Last year, Vice President Harris went instead. This year, the administration will send White House officials John Podesta, Ali Zaidi and Brenda Mallory, as well as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.  Biden is not the only world leader planning to sit out the summit this year. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also expected to skip the conference. China, the U.S. and India are the world's three biggest emitters.   When Biden assumed office, he reentered the U.S. into the global Paris climate agreement, which Trump withdrew from. If he's elected, Trump has said he'll re-exit the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming.   Read more at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazi and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:  Colorado ballot measure to ban big cat hunting raises clashing conservation concernsColorado wildlife experts are at odds over whether a ballot measure to ban the hunting of certain wildcats would help or hurt the formidable felines that have long been intrinsic to Rocky Mountain ecosystems.  Full Story  Northeast US experiences unseasonably warm temps on Halloween Record-breaking temperatures are blanketing the Northeast this Halloween, as children ditch the winter gear and enjoy summer weather while trick or treating.  Full Story   Los Angeles County sues PepsiCo, Coca-Cola over role in plastic pollution ‘crisis’Los Angeles County announced a lawsuit against Coca-Cola and PepsiCo this week, arguing the soda giants misled the public on the recyclability of the plastics used for their products.  Full Story   In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: White House blames jobs reports on hurricanes and labor strikes The White House on Friday blamed the stall in job growth in October on the hurricanes and labor strikes in recent weeks. Full Story   What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Oregon inks agreement with developers to enter entire state forest into carbon market (Oregon Capital Chronicle)  FEMA didn’t answer almost half the calls it received for disaster aid (E&E News) China resists mounting pressure to do more on climate change (The Washington Post)  On Tap  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Tuesday is Election Day! Find your polling place here and follow The Hill's coverage here.   What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: CNN contributor takes back Cheney ‘firing squad’ quip: ‘I was wrong’ Political analyst Jonah Goldberg retracted comments made during a Friday CNN appearance in response to former President Trump’s criticism of former Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) foreign policy.  Read more Julia Roberts ad sparks debate about gender gap, voting in marriages A pro-Harris campaign ad encouraging women to break with their Trump-supporting partners at the ballot box is striking a nerve amid signs of a growing national gender gap in the high-stakes presidential race.   Read more  You're all caught up. See you Monday!  Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Energy and Environment newsletter Subscribe