Cardin, state environment secretary heading to international climate conference in Dubai

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D) and state Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain are the top Maryland officials headed to the annual international climate conference now underway in the United Arab Emirates. The two-week confab, known as COP 28 (officially the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), brings together policymakers, business leaders and environmental activists to set international goals for fighting climate change, discuss ways to finance clean energy development, and look at technology demonstrations — along with good, old-fashioned political advocacy and protest.