Nearly 200 countries are meeting in Belém, Brazil, for COP30 (Nov. 10–21), the annual U.N. climate summit. This year the United States is not sending high-level officials, breaking a long-standing practice; the White House told NPR that no senior U.S. representatives will attend. A White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, said, “President Trump will not jeopardize our country’s economic and national security to pursue vague climate goals that are killing other countries.”
Background
The U.S. left the 2015 Paris Agreement in January, a move that signals a broader reprioritization of climate policy under President Trump. The Paris accord aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C and ideally to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. A recent U.N. report finds the world is currently on track for roughly 2.8°C of warming by 2100; the report also estimates that eliminating all current U.S. climate efforts would add about 0.1°C of warming. As Ko Barrett, deputy secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, put it, “Each fraction of a degree matters for communities facing floods, drought, and heat extremes.”
Key shifts in U.S. climate policy under the Trump administration
Below are six major policy changes and proposals the administration has pursued that shape the U.S. posture heading into COP30.
1) Rolling back the legal basis for federal climate rules
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a broad deregulatory push, targeting more than two dozen rules and calling the action the most consequential deregulation day in U.S. history. Central to that effort is an attempt to rescind the 2009 “endangerment finding,” the legal determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. That finding underpins federal rules on vehicle efficiency, power-plant emissions, and other pollution controls; removing it would make it easier to unwind many climate regulations. In July the EPA argued that U.S. climate pollution is not harming people in a way that requires regulation.
2) Repealing limits on emissions from power plants
In June the administration proposed repealing limits on greenhouse gas and other airborne pollutants from fossil-fuel power plants. If finalized and allowed to stand after legal challenges, the rule would remove controls on the second-largest U.S. source of climate pollution (after transportation). The administration has downplayed the U.S. share of current annual global emissions (about 3% from power plants) while critics note the U.S. has contributed a historically large share of the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
3) Withdrawing support for renewable energy and consumer incentives
Federal policy shifts have rolled back support for wind, solar, and other low-carbon technologies. A GOP spending law removed federal tax incentives for wind and solar, putting many projects at risk; the administration has canceled more than $13 billion in funds for green energy projects and tried to halt offshore wind developments. Data from BloombergNEF reported a 36% drop in U.S. renewable investment in the first half of 2025. The administration has also targeted consumer-facing subsidies: it ended a $7 billion grant program for local solar projects and allowed tax credits and incentives for rooftop solar, efficient heat pumps, home insulation, and electric vehicles to expire or sunset on specified dates in 2025 and 2026.
4) Cutting grants for climate and energy programs
Multiple federal grant programs for climate resilience, clean energy deployment, grid upgrades, carbon-removal research, and related projects have been canceled or reduced. Officials, grantees, contractors and advocacy groups say the cuts have undermined planning and shaken trust in the federal government as a partner for cities, states and tribes. Democratic lawmakers and energy experts warned the cuts could slow innovation, raise utility costs, and leave the power system less prepared for rising demand.
5) Reducing federal climate science capacity and removing data
The administration has pared back climate science staffing and funding at agencies including NOAA, NASA and USDA. Authors working on the next National Climate Assessment (NCA), the nation’s key synthesis of climate impacts and risks, were dismissed and the federal site hosting the most recent assessment was taken down. Long-running datasets and analyses—such as NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Disaster tracking—have been discontinued or scaled back, affecting the country’s ability to track disaster costs and trends.
6) Cutting disaster preparedness and FEMA grants
As extreme weather, wildfires, and storms intensify, federal preparation and mitigation grants are a major way communities reduce future losses. The administration canceled more than $4 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants used for resilience projects like flood mitigation, evacuation planning and hospital fortification. Officials have advocated for shifting more responsibility to states. Local leaders and emergency managers say the sudden reduction in federal funding has left critical projects unfunded and communities more exposed to rising climate risks.
Consequences and context
Experts warn that U.S. steps back from international engagement and domestic climate action could influence other countries and slow collective progress. Some effects are already visible: lower federal support and incentives have tied to a drop in renewable investment and delayed projects. Cuts to science and data hamper planning and risk assessment. Even if the U.S. contribution to annual emissions is smaller than in the past, the country still accounts for a large historical share of atmospheric greenhouse gases, and policy changes in the U.S. can have outsized diplomatic and economic impacts.
At COP30, negotiators will push to advance emissions reductions, resilience, and finance for vulnerable countries. With no high-level U.S. delegation, American absence will be noticed in formal negotiations and in side events where governments and businesses typically coordinate. Observers say the missing leadership could make reaching stronger global commitments harder, even as many nations and subnational actors continue to pursue emissions cuts and adaptation measures.
Bottom line
The Trump administration’s approach ahead of COP30 emphasizes deregulation, expanded fossil-fuel development, and reduced federal investment in renewables, science, and resilience. Those moves alter the U.S. role in global climate talks and have practical effects on emissions trajectories, domestic preparedness, and the nation’s scientific infrastructure.
