Trump adviser Cohn to host breakfast on climate ahead of UN meeting

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, will hold a breakfast for international officials focused on energy and climate issues next week, according to a copy of the invitation for the event seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, will host the meeting on Monday in New York City before the start of the United Nations General Assembly. "This breakfast is an opportunity for key ministers with responsibility for these issues to engage in an informal exchange of views and discuss how we can move forward most productively," the invitation said. It was unclear how many officials received the invitation. Trump sparked outrage from international partners in June when he announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, arguing that it put U.S. industries at a disadvantage. The Trump administration has said it would continue to participate in United Nations climate change meetings during the withdrawal process, which is expected to take at least three years. Cohn's relationship with Trump has been strained in recent weeks, after Cohn criticized the president for his response to violence at a rally organized by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Leslie Adler)