Trump Administration Skips COP30 as U.S. State and City Leaders Take the Lead on Climate Action

The Trump administration has opted out of sending any senior representatives to this month’s United Nations climate talks, COP30, effectively sidelining itself from one of the year’s most significant global environmental gatherings.

Despite Washington’s absence, dozens of U.S. state and local leaders are heading to Brazil to highlight their own climate initiatives and commitments.

“Whatever our national policy is or isn’t, people on the ground locally are getting it done—building partnerships and creating the kind of clean energy future we all rely on,” said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham during a press call ahead of the talks.

Grisham, speaking from a pre-COP30 summit in Brazil, will be joined by more than 100 U.S. subnational representatives, including Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and others. The group’s participation is organized under coalitions such as America Is All In, Climate Mayors, and the U.S. Climate Alliance.

Former U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern noted the scale of their influence:

“This is a mighty coalition representing two-thirds of Americans, three-quarters of U.S. GDP, and over half of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to Grisham, the states are engaged in a “friendly race to the top,” each striving to cut emissions while growing their economies.

“I hope that this is contagious,” she said.

The optimism came just a day after local elections across the United States, where Democrats and progressives scored major victories.

“Over 30 climate mayors won last night,” said Gina McCarthy, former Biden climate adviser and Obama-era EPA chief.

Grisham highlighted her state’s progress in reducing emissions while maintaining economic output:

“New Mexico has doubled oil and gas production but cut methane emissions by half. We’re showing that an all-of-the-above approach works.”

Her comment references a policy framework that supports both renewable and fossil energy development—a stance Donald Trump has dismissed even as climate scientists warn that rapidly phasing out fossil fuels is essential to meet global climate goals.

For youth activists, however, symbolic wins like Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor point toward a more transformative future.

“He stands in contrast to Democratic governors who claim climate leadership while expanding fossil fuels,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, lead organizer with Fridays for Future NYC, who plans to attend COP30.

Arpels-Josiah said his group will use the summit to call for “true climate-justice-aligned policy” that moves decisively away from fossil fuel dependence.

At COP30, nations will focus on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, which Trump withdrew the U.S. from upon returning to office earlier this year. Meanwhile, reports surfaced that U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently visited one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields in the UAE—a move widely seen as signaling a lack of U.S. interest in international climate cooperation.

Even so, experts doubt that the administration’s absence—or interference—will derail the talks.

“I don’t know whether they’ll try to intervene in any way,” Stern said. “But honestly, I don’t think countries here are going to care very much. The world is in this agreement—and they’re not leaving.”