California Governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, referred to US President Donald Trump as "an invasive species" during an intervention at the Climate Summit (COP30) in Belém. "What he is trying to do (Trump) is to reverse the progress of the last century and recreate the 19th century," emphasized Newsom. "It's stupidity squared."
Newsom, who is emerging as the Democratic Party's favorite candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, is the highest-ranking American politician at the climate summit, following Trump's decision not to send a high-level government delegation to Brazil. Donald Trump announced in January his country's withdrawal (for the second time) from the Paris Agreement and referred to climate change during his latest intervention at the UN General Assembly as "the greatest scam of the century."
Since taking office, Trump has intimidated scientific institutions, weakened environmental protections, and reversed climate policies promoted by Joe Biden, canceling over $13 billion in funding for renewable energy projects while deciding to boost gas and oil drilling across the country.
Gavin Newsom strongly opposes Trump's plans to grant new licenses for oil drilling off the coasts of California. "He will have to do it over my dead body," warned the Democratic governor, recalling the impact of the 1969 spill of over 100,000 barrels of oil off Santa Barbara (the ecological disaster that served as a catalyst for Earth Day).
"Trump wants to issue licenses off the coasts of California, but he doesn't want oil platforms off the coast of Florida, much less in front of Mar-a-Lago," Newsom declared, the highest representative of around twenty US states and cities that have sent delegates to Belém. "What stands in the way will ultimately mark the path," stated Newsom. "We are facing an opportunity for local leaders to step up and reaffirm their purpose," he noted.
"Do you know who is celebrating and applauding Trump's decision?" Newsom asked COP30 delegates. "President Xi of China. They are leaning back in their chairs as they dominate production chains because they have understood the great opportunity of clean energy," affirmed the Californian governor.
Newsom's plea comes a day after Christiana Figueres, former UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change and one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, ironically celebrated Trump's absence in Belém with a "Ciao, bambino." In her opinion, the absence of a US delegation will help expedite negotiations and avoid attempts to sabotage them from within, as recently happened in discussions on decarbonizing maritime transport.
At the start of COP30, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva directly referenced Trump's and the far-right's maneuvers to sabotage climate action. "It is time to impose a new defeat on the deniers," said Lula da Silva. "In the era of disinformation, obscurantists reject not only the evidence of science but also the advances of multilateralism. They control algorithms, sow hatred, and spread fear. They attack institutions, science, and universities."
President Emmanuel Macron took over and urged world leaders to "put science ahead of ideology." Without directly mentioning Trump, Macron criticized "the prophets of disorder who sow doubt and division, at a time when the world must act collectively to address the climate crisis."