One of the most notable absences at this week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference highlights the leadership gap from one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters: the United States. The administration of President Donald Trump declined to send any top-level officials to Belem, Brazil, for COP30.
In Trump’s stead, state and local officials arrived to reaffirm US commitment to climate policies and to criticise the Republican leader. On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom — a frequent Trump sparring partner and a speculated 2028 contender — took centre stage, denouncing the White House’s lack of representation as an abdication of duty.
“I come here with humility, coming from the United States. I’m very mindful that the Trump administration has abandoned any sense of duty, responsibility or leadership as it relates to the issues that bring us all here together,” Newsom said at a ministerial meeting. “It’s an abomination. It’s a disgrace. But rather than complaining about it, we’re trying to do something about it.”
Newsom positioned California as a contrast to the federal approach and sought to present its climate efforts as having bipartisan roots, citing Republican figures such as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon for earlier environmental advances. “I’m here because I don’t want the United States of America to be a footnote at this conference, and I want you to know that we recognise our responsibility, and we recognise our opportunity,” he told the COP30 audience.
A political pivot
Newsom’s remarks come as he nears the end of his second and final term as governor. He has spent recent years raising his national and international profile — including a 2023 trip to China to forge climate ties — and he played visible roles during the 2024 presidential cycle, debating Republicans and campaigning as a surrogate after President Joe Biden left the race. Trump, who won in 2024, has repeatedly attacked Newsom, even calling him “Newscum” and suggesting it would be “a great thing” if he were arrested.
At COP30, Newsom argued the US absence opened space for geopolitical rivals to expand influence. “China is here. Only one country’s not here: United States of America,” he said, warning that disengaging from climate and clean energy would cede economic power. “This is not about electric power. This is about economic power. And we, in the state of California, are not going to cede that race to China.”
Trump’s climate policies
Trump has long opposed emission-lowering policies, at times calling climate change a “hoax” and criticizing global efforts to cap carbon. At the UN General Assembly in September, he called the idea of a “fake energy catastrophe” and scorned climate predictions he said had “cost their countries fortunes.”
After campaigning on “Drill, baby, drill,” Trump has sought to open federal lands and waters to oil and gas exploration. While Newsom spoke at COP30, the Washington Post reported the administration was weighing a draft proposal to allow offshore drilling along California’s coastline — an area largely protected due to past spills and state prohibitions within three miles of shore. Democrats, including Representative Mike Levin, have tried to block new drilling protections without success, but Newsom called the administration’s proposal “dead on arrival” and questioned why the plan surfaced during COP30. He noted the proposal wasn’t promoted off Florida’s coast, suggesting a double standard tied to Trump’s personal interests: “That says everything about Donald Trump.”
Connecting with voters
Newsom broadened his critique beyond climate policy to condemn what he called the erosion of due process in Trump’s actions abroad. Asked about Trump’s repeated air strikes on maritime vessels alleged to be drug-smuggling boats, Newsom demanded, “What happened to due process? What happened to the rule of law?” Since September 2, the administration has carried out at least 19 known air strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing about 75 people, according to reports; legal experts and UN leaders have decried the strikes as extrajudicial and called for accountability. The administration defends the strikes as needed to disrupt trafficking and has moved to label Latin American cartels as “international terrorist organisations.”
At COP30, Newsom urged the international community to stand against such actions and said US politics must change. “It’s chilling to me to see those scenes of the United States of America blowing up boats with no transparency, no advice and consent with the United States Congress,” he said.
At an event titled “America Is All In,” Newsom reiterated that Trump’s power is temporary and described him as “an invasive species” and “a wrecking ball president.” Pressed on how to reach voters skeptical of climate goals, Newsom argued for clearer, more relatable language. He said terms like “1.5 degrees Celsius” and “greenhouse gas emissions” feel abstract to many: “We have to use better metaphors. We have to change our language.”
When asked about his own presidential ambitions, Newsom declined to be drawn in: “I’m not going to take the bait,” he said, eliciting laughter.
