COP30: Trump and many leaders are skipping it, so does the summit still have a point?
COP30: With Trump and Numerous Leaders Absent, Does the Summit Retain Its Relevance?
A photograph from a decade ago in Paris appears increasingly archaic today. The image captures dozens of men and women in dark suits posing before a massive banner labeled “COP21 Paris.” At the center, UK Prime Minister David Cameron beams, standing next to the future King Charles III and just ahead of China’s Xi Jinping. To the far right, then-US President Barack Obama is engaged in conversation with an individual partially cropped out of the frame—a result of the sheer volume of leaders present that day, making it nearly impossible for the photographer to fit everyone into a single shot.
This scene stands in stark contrast to the group photo taken this Thursday at the COP30 summit in Brazil. In this year’s lineup, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were absent, as were the leaders of approximately 160 other nations. Most notably, US President Donald Trump did not attend. The Trump administration has completely withdrawn from the process, announcing that no high-level officials would be dispatched this year. This mass absence prompts a critical question: What is the purpose of a two-week multinational gathering if so many key figures are missing?
Christiana Figueres, the former head of the UN climate process who oversaw the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, previously described the COP mechanism as “not fit for purpose” during last year’s conference. Joss Garman, a former climate activist now leading the think tank Loom, concurs, stating, “The golden era for multilateral diplomacy is over.” He argues that contemporary climate politics is increasingly defined by “who captures and controls the economic benefits of new energy industries.”
Given that carbon dioxide emissions continue to climb despite 29 previous summits designed to reduce them, one must ask whether additional COP meetings can yield any meaningful results.
Trump and the Climate ‘Con Job’
On his first day back in the White House, Trump used a marker pen to officially withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, the 2015 UN treaty wherein nations committed to collaborating to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. Speaking to the UN General Assembly in September, he characterized climate change initiatives as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” warning, “If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
Under Trump’s direction, the US has reversed restrictions on oil, gas, and coal production, signed billions of dollars in tax incentives for fossil fuel companies, and opened federal lands for extraction. Furthermore, Trump and his administration have urged global governments to abandon what they termed “pathetic” renewable energy programs, urging them instead to purchase US oil and gas, sometimes threatening punitive tariffs for non-compliance. Consequently, Japan, South Korea, and European nations have committed to buying tens of billions of dollars in US hydrocarbons.
Trump’s stated objective is to establish the US as the “number one energy superpower in the world.” Simultaneously, he has moved to dismantle the clean energy agenda of his predecessor, Joe Biden. Subsidies and tax breaks for wind and solar power have been reduced, permits revoked, and projects canceled. Research funding has also been slashed. When questioned about this policy shift in September, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright remarked, “Wind power in the United States has been subsidised for 33 years - isn’t that enough? You've got to be able to walk on your own after 25 to 30 years of subsidies.”
John Podesta, a senior climate adviser to both Obama and Biden, offers a differing perspective. He contends that “The United States is taking a wrecking ball to clean energy,” adding, “They're trying to take us back not to the 20th Century, but the 19th.”
Last month, a significant agreement aimed at reducing global shipping emissions was scrapped after the US, alongside Saudi Arabia, successfully halted the negotiations. These developments have alarmed many supporters of the COP framework. A primary concern is whether the US trajectory will encourage other nations to scale back their own environmental commitments. Anna Aberg, a Research Fellow at Chatham House’s Environment and Society program, highlights these growing anxieties.
Source: BBC News Generated at: 2025-11-10 00:09:19 UTC
