California Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s absence from the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, calling it a “disgrace” and accusing his administration of abandoning global leadership on the climate crisis.
The United States, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, declined to send senior officials to the summit, marking a striking absence as global leaders gathered to address the accelerating effects of climate change. In Trump’s stead, a delegation of U.S. state and local leaders, including Newsom, sought to reassure the international community that many Americans still support robust climate action.
Speaking Tuesday on multiple panels, Newsom said he attended COP30 “with humility” but also “deep frustration” at the federal government’s failure to participate. “The Trump administration has abandoned any sense of duty, responsibility, or leadership as it relates to the issues that bring us all here together,” he said. “It’s an abomination. It’s a disgrace. But rather than complaining about it, we’re trying to do something about it.”
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Newsom highlighted California’s climate record as proof that U.S. progress continues despite federal resistance. He cited Republican leaders like Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon as early champions of environmental protection, arguing that the state’s green policies have long had bipartisan roots. “I don’t want the United States to be a footnote at this conference,” he told delegates. “We recognize our responsibility, and we recognize our opportunity.”
Over the past two years, Newsom has used international platforms to strengthen his environmental credentials. In 2023, he visited China to promote cooperation on clean energy, and during the 2024 U.S. presidential race, he became a prominent critic of Republican policies — even debating then-candidate Ron DeSantis on Fox News.
Since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, the two have clashed repeatedly over issues from immigration to wildfire management. Trump has ridiculed the governor as “Newscum” and recently mused that it “would be a great thing” if Newsom were arrested, a remark that further inflamed tensions between the two leaders.
While Newsom addressed COP30, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was weighing a plan to resume offshore drilling along California’s coastline — a move that would overturn decades of environmental restrictions.
Newsom condemned the idea as “dead on arrival,” accusing Trump of announcing it to coincide with the climate summit. “He intentionally aligned that to the opening of COP,” Newsom said. “I also think it’s remarkable he didn’t promote it in his own backyard at Mar-a-Lago. That says everything about Donald Trump.”
