Over 100 US leaders to attend Cop30 climate summit as Trump stays away | Cop30

The Trump administration appears to be opting out of this month’s UN climate talks, known as Cop30, telling the Guardian it will not deploy any high-level representatives to the negotiations.

But dozens of U.S. subnational leaders are there to promote their climate efforts.

“Whatever our policy is nationalized or not, the people on the ground are getting it done, engaging in partnerships and economic development that will last generations and create the type of clean energy future we are all counting on,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on a press call.

Grisham, who spoke to reporters at a pre-Cop30 summit in Brazil, will travel to the negotiations with more than 100 other U.S. and local leaders. Organized by subnational climate coalitions America Is All In, Climate Mayors and the US Climate Alliance, the group will also include Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and others.

“This is a powerful coalition representing about two-thirds of Americans, three-quarters of our GDP and more than 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Todd Stern, former special envoy for climate change under Barack Obama.

States compete in a “friendly race to the top,” Grisham said, striving to reduce pollution caused by global warming while boosting their economies.

“I hope it’s contagious,” she said.

This call to the press comes a day after the elections in the United States, which resulted in broad success for Democrats and progressives.

“More than 30 climate mayors won last night,” said Gina McCarthy, who served as climate adviser to Joe Biden and environment chief under Obama.

On the call, Grisham said New Mexico has increased its oil and gas production in recent years, but has cut its methane production in half.

“We’re showing that all of the above is here today,” she said, referring to a policy approach that supports the development and use of renewable energy and fossil fuels, something Donald Trump has avoided.

Yet the United Nations’ top climate experts have long warned that climate action requires the rapid elimination of fossil fuels. That’s one reason why Keanu Arpels-Josiah, lead organizer for the youth-led activist group Fridays For Future NYC, was so excited about Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s mayoral elections this week. A self-described ecosocialist, Mamdani has been a vocal advocate of policies to phase out fossil fuels from buildings and efforts to stop construction of a natural gas pipeline.

“He really stands in contrast to many Democratic governors who are trying to claim climate leadership … while continuing to promote the expansion of fossil fuels in their states,” said Arpels-Josiah, who plans to attend Cop30. During the climate negotiations, his organization will highlight Mamdani’s victory as a sign that Americans are ready for “real policy aligned with climate justice” that “pushes toward an end to fossil fuel extractivism.”

At Cop30, nations will discuss implementation of the 2015 Paris climate accord, from which the United States withdrew on its first day back in office this year. Days before the negotiations, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared to have visited the world’s second-largest offshore oil field while in the United Arab Emirates — a sign that international climate efforts are not a priority.

Still, many concerns remain that officials will ignore climate negotiations altogether, with some fearing they will try to thwart climate action from afar. The Guardian has contacted the White House for comment.

But even if the Trump administration tries to intervene, it won’t succeed, Stern said.

“I don’t know if they will try to intervene in some way, but honestly, I don’t think the countries here will care much,” he said. “Countries around the world are in this agreement and they will not leave it.”