American voices took the stage on day two of the COP30 climate conference, but none represented the federal government. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, spoke at the UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon after the Trump administration opted not to send a delegation.
Newsom said a Democratic administration would rejoin the Paris Agreement "without hesitation."
"It's a moral commitment, it's an economic imperative, it's both -- and it's an abomination that he has twice, not once, pulled away from the accords," Newsom said in response to a question by French press agency AFP in Belem, the Brazilian Amazon city hosting the COP30 climate summit.
Newsom appeared alongside Helder Barbalho, the governor of Para state, of which Belem is the capital, at an event on the city's docks.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's absence from COP30 marked a departure from traditional climate diplomacy, in which the White House typically leads US delegations at annual UN climate negotiations. State officials filled the void left by Washington's decision to stay away.
Since taking power, Trump has strongly criticised international climate efforts, including the UN-sponsored Conference of Parties, or COP30, and has chosen not to send any top-level US officials to the climate gathering in Brazil, which takes place in the city of Belém from 10–21 November.
White House spokesperson Tyler Rogers said that Trump "will not jeopardise our country's economic and national security to pursue vague climate goals that are killing other countries", asserting that climate policies such as the Paris Agreement would have "killed America" had it not been for Trump's intervention.
Trump frequently refers to climate change as "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world", and his administration has rolled back numerous climate policies in favour of "common-sense energy" – including signing an executive order on 20 January to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Showcase California
Dubbed the "anti-Trump" by Politico Newsom is showcasing how California's clean energy transition is driving economic growth, creating jobs and reducing pollution, positioning climate action as a defining opportunity of the 21st century.
"We are doubling down on stupid in the United States of America – not in my state of California," Newsom told an audience at the Global Investors Symposium at the Milken Institute in São Paulo on Monday, drawing a sharp contrast between his state's green economic growth and federal retreat.
"What the hell is going on here? This is the country we should be engaging with instead of giving the middle finger with 50 per cent tariffs," he said, referencing the Trump administration's trade approach to Brazil.
In Belém, Newsom's high-profile delegation – including leaders in resources, agriculture and energy – will hold meetings with Brazilian officials, climate investors and Indigenous leaders. He promoted California's track record: a 21 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2000, a surging green economy and a $50 billion climate investment programme he says is producing "jobs, clean air and lower costs".
California now counts seven times as many green jobs as fossil fuel positions, even as its economy has become the world's fourth largest.
2026 US Midterms
Newsom's trip comes as COP30 gathers world leaders and civil society ten years after the Paris Agreement, amid speculation about Democratic strategies for the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race.
Newsom’s efforts at COP30 are intertwined with his recent domestic initiatives.
Last week, he celebrated a redistricting win in California that added five Democratic congressional seats, urging other blue-state governors to follow suit ahead of the midterms.
What the Democrats' resurgence in US elections spells for the 2026 midterms
“We cannot rest until we take back the House,” he told supporters after his party's win.
For the Democratic Party, Newsom’s strategy is clear: recast climate action as the engine of economic opportunity, deepen partnerships across the Americas, and use galvanising events like COP30 to project American leadership—even when Washington steps back.
Polls now suggest Democrats could net twelve seats in the 2026 midterms, and Newsom’s name is increasingly floated as a contender for the White House in 2028.
(with newswires)
