Democratic senator hugs green wall in bid to 'protect' planet

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) showed off his best tree-hugging technique in an effort to raise awareness for protecting the environment.

Hickenlooper shared an image of himself hugging greenery and emphasized the need to "protect" the planet in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Monday night.

"We only have one planet — let's protect it!" Hickenlooper wrote.

The post received a mixed reception on the platform, with some users confused about why he was hugging a wall of greenery rather than a tree and others confused about the context of the Monday night post.

The Colorado Democrat's post did not elaborate further, but it does come ahead of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later this week.

The major climate change conference is expected to include several world leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Pope Francis. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are some of the international leaders not expected to attend.

Biden is slated to meet with the president of Angola and attend the National Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Thursday instead of attending the U.N. climate conference. He attended the conference in 2021 and 2022. Hickenlooper attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021, during which he pushed for several climate-related initiatives.