Governors, local officials, mayors… More than 100 American representatives will travel to Belém, Brazil, for the 30th UN climate change conference, COP30. “We are coming in force,” the co-chair of the “America Is All In” coalition of elected officials declared at a press conference on Thursday, October 30. “Local elected officials have the power to act on their own initiative, to lead climate action both domestically and internationally,” explained this former climate advisor to former President Joe Biden.
Composed of local and regional leaders, the group represents “two-thirds of the American population and three-quarters of the American GDP, as well as more than 50% of American emissions,” she explained.
The United States remains a party to the Paris Agreement for a few more months.
“We will keep the promises made to the American people and our international partners,” she added, while US President Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and, upon returning to the White House, hastily withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, a text that commits signatory countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Since the agreement stipulates a one-year notice period before withdrawal, the United States is still a party to it. However, with two weeks to go before the start of the conference, the presence of the Trump administration at COP30 remains highly uncertain.
COP30 in Brazil
US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a vocal advocate on climate issues, is not counting on an official delegation being sent. “But who knows?” he said on Thursday. “It’s a very unpredictable administration. They could decide at the last minute to send a plane to Belém, full of climate change deniers and representatives of the fossil fuel industry,” the Democrat remarked.
In the longer term, climate advocates fear that Donald Trump will seek to withdraw the United States from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the body that governs UN climate discussions. Such a far-reaching decision could prevent future administrations from rejoining the Paris Agreement.
