Trump leaves the U.S. as a ‘footnote’ in global climate action.

On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a staunch opponent of U.S. President Donald Trump, criticized the United States’ absence from the United Nations Climate Summit (COP30) taking place in the Brazilian Amazon.

RELATED:

Oxfam Warns of ‘Green Land Grabbing’ by Rich Countries

“It’s an abomination. It’s a disgrace. But instead of complaining, we are here to do something about it,” said the Democratic Party leader during a press conference in the Brazilian city of Belem.

Citing the Trump administration’s lack of leadership on environmental and climate issues, Newsom said he decided to attend the Belem summit because he doesn’t want the United States “to be a footnote in this conference.”

California, the largest green economy in the United States, represents a vision distinct from Washington’s approach to environmental policy Newsom said, pointing out that California will continue to lead and promote sustainable growth.

Newsom noted that if California were a nation, it would be the world’s fourth-largest economy, and highlighted that two-thirds of its energy now comes from clean sources. He also sent a message to the U.S. automotive industry, urging it to “wake up” to global competition.

“This isn’t just about electric energy; it’s about economic power. China is moving forward aggressively,” he said, adding that California will not fall behind and intends to compete in that market.

During his visit to the Amazon Bioeconomy and Innovation Park, considered Latin America’s largest forest innovation hub, Newsom reiterated that under a future Democratic administration, the United States would return to the Paris Agreement. “It’s a moral commitment and an economic imperative,” he said.

Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement upon taking office for a second term, a move he had also made during its first.

The United States, one of the world’s top polluters, is absent from a climate summit for the first time. The decision came from Trump, a self-declared climate change denier who has called global warming “the greatest hoax” in history.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

IN THIS ARTICLE