The US government has again recorded high level delegates a no -show from the world climate engagement.
The U.S government registered absence at the United Nations climate convening after President Donald Trump went on record earlier calling climate change a hoax and the gathering a “con job”.
President Donald Trump took office in January 2025 and initiated the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for the second time and the decision is set to become official in January 2026.
It is on record that it is not the first time that U.S keeps off the climate summit.
In COP23 which was hosted in Bonn, Germany in 2017 during president Trump first term in office, the official U.S. representation was minimal and of low-profile accused of notably focusing on promoting fossil fuels contrary to the then climate change narrative.
Despite the federal government’s stance, the United Nations office on climate change UNFCCC maintains that, the UN Climate Change Conference-COP30 in Belém, Brazil is about accelerating climate action, and that real progress is being made, but there is need to move faster.
According to UNFCCC, COP30 will send a clear signal that the world is fully committed to climate multilateralism—because it works.
In a welcoming speech, Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urged delegates to focus on achieving results from the engagements to impose defeat to science denialists.
In his three parts call, da Silva called on countries to abide to commitments, focus on financing and technology developments to tackle climate change and called on international communities to focus on fair transition for Global North and Global South.
Simon Stiell, the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change opening speech read in part: “Those opting out or taking baby steps face stagnation and higher prices while other economies surge ahead.
To paraphrase president Roosevelt a century ago, it is not the critic who counts or the one who points out where the door of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to those who actually are in the arena with their faces marred by dust and sweat and blood who strive valiantly.”
Stiell also warned delegates in Belem against a push and pull during the COP30 negotiations.
