US state leaders dominate the UN climate summit as California and New Mexico governors push green agenda despite Trump’s absence.
BELÉM: The Americans are coming to the UN climate summit without President Donald Trump.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham are taking centre stage on the conference’s second day.
Newsom governs the world’s fourth-largest economy and has positioned himself as Trump’s political opposite.
“We are doubling down on stupid in the United States of America,” the Democrat told an audience in Sao Paulo on Monday.
“Not in my state of California.”
Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord upon returning to office in January.
His administration has made fossil fuel expansion central to its second-term agenda.
US states can still pursue climate blueprints from former president Joe Biden’s administration according to experts.
“The states have that roadmap, they can still follow it and keep to the spirit of Paris,” said Champa Patel of Climate Group.
Patel noted that state-level actors implement climate policies as market forces drive renewable energy growth.
Newsom is expected to highlight California’s environmental achievements during the summit.
The state’s $4.1 trillion economy now runs on two-thirds clean energy.
California’s Cap-and-Invest carbon market was recently extended by law until 2045.
New Mexico’s governor leads a major fossil fuel-producing state but has pushed renewable expansion.
Lujan Grisham has worked to curb methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
State-level action faces limitations despite these efforts.
Republicans recently passed a law ending clean energy tax credits from Biden’s administration.
This move could potentially cripple the renewable sector’s growth.
State coalitions exert political pressure but remain outside official UN negotiations.
They cannot directly participate in the summit’s text-drafting process.
Newsom will meet with Para state governor Helder Barbalho during the Brazil summit.
Speculation continues about the California governor’s potential 2028 presidential run. – AFP
