‘Trump Is Temporary’: California Governor Gavin Newsom Takes Aim At Trump’s Climate Policies

<p>With US President Donald Trump skipping the UN&rsquo;s climate summit in the Amazon, California Governor Gavin Newsom seized the global stage on Tuesday and launched a fierce attack on Trump&rsquo;s fossil fuel agenda.</p>
<p>The outspoken Democrat, often mentioned as a possible contender for the 2028 presidential race, did not hold back. He accused Trump of &ldquo;doubling down on stupid&rdquo; by supporting Big Oil and abandoning international climate commitments.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a moral commitment, it&rsquo;s an economic imperative,&rdquo; Newsom said when asked about the issue during the COP30 summit in Bel&eacute;m, a city deep in Brazil&rsquo;s Amazon region. &ldquo;It is an abomination that he has twice, not once, pulled away from the accords.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Newsom vowed that a future Democratic administration would rejoin the Paris Agreement &ldquo;without hesitation.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Trump&rsquo;s Climate Record Under Fire</h2>
<p>After returning to office in January, Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement for a second time, repeating the move he first made during his earlier term. The president has long dismissed the concept of human-driven climate change, calling it a &ldquo;con job.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In contrast, Newsom highlighted California&rsquo;s achievements on clean energy. Appearing alongside Par&aacute; Governor Helder Barbalho, he proudly noted that nearly two-thirds of California&rsquo;s power now comes from renewable sources. Between sips of a&ccedil;a&iacute; juice and bites of tropical fruit, he described California as &ldquo;the world&rsquo;s fourth-largest economy that&rsquo;s proving you can grow and go green at the same time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>From there, Newsom&rsquo;s day turned into a diplomatic sprint. He met with officials from Germany&rsquo;s Baden-W&uuml;rttemberg, Brazil&rsquo;s Minister for Indigenous Peoples, and the Brazilian president of COP30. Each appearance drew large media crowds more commonly seen around national leaders.</p>
<h2>States Step Up as Washington Steps Back</h2>
<p>Still, Newsom&rsquo;s influence, like that of other regional leaders, has limits. Governors do not take part in official COP30 negotiations, which opened this week with renewed global calls for climate action.</p>
<p>New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was also in attendance, acknowledged the constraints. &ldquo;Certainly our meetings with leaders at the UN and others were to demonstrate that we&rsquo;re interested in any possibility that does more about that direct negotiation and representation,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>Her takeaway was clear. &ldquo;When the federal government leans in, we do more. And when they lean out, we do more. It&rsquo;s both.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>&lsquo;A Good Thing&rsquo; Trump Stayed Away</h2>
<p>Christiana Figueres, one of the architects of the Paris climate accord, suggested that Trump&rsquo;s absence might actually help progress. &ldquo;I actually think it is a good thing,&rdquo; she told reporters, noting that while Washington may still coordinate quietly with oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia, &ldquo;they cannot take the floor and directly bully other nations.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Climate Efforts Beyond Washington</h2>
<p>Despite the federal pullback, experts say American cities and states still hold substantial influence. According to a University of Maryland study, if local governments intensify their green initiatives and a climate-friendly president takes office in 2028, US emissions could drop by more than 50 percent by 2035, coming close to the 61&ndash;66 percent reduction once targeted under President Biden.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The president can&rsquo;t throw a switch and turn everything off. That&rsquo;s not how our system works,&rdquo; said Nate Hultman, who led the study.</p>
<p>He added that even states with conservative leadership are seeing market-driven growth in renewables. Texas, for instance, led the nation in renewable energy generation last year.</p>
<p>Still, challenges remain. Trump&rsquo;s Republican allies recently passed legislation to cut short clean energy tax credits, a move experts warn could slow investment in renewables. His administration has also blocked global initiatives such as a carbon tax on shipping, threatening retaliation against countries that supported the proposal.</p>
<h2>&lsquo;Trump Is Temporary&rsquo;</h2>
<p>As the summit continued, Newsom urged world leaders not to be intimidated by Trump&rsquo;s policies or rhetoric. &ldquo;Trump is temporary,&rdquo; he reminded them. &ldquo;You stand up to a bully.&rdquo;</p>