At COP30, California Governor Newsom blasts Trump for 'dumb' U.S. climate policy

BELEM, Brazil — California Governor Gavin Newsom assured an audience at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil that his state would continue to prioritize green technology, while blasting U.S. President Donald Trump's "dumb" decision to reverse the federal government's course on climate action.

Speaking at an event with Germany's vice minister for climate and state-level officials, he lamented the Trump administration's attacks on the fast-growing clean energy economy as ceding the market to China.

"China is flooding the zone and will dominate in the next great global industry," Newsom said in the first of several scheduled appearances at the U.N. climate summit in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem.

"The United States of America is as dumb as we want to be on this topic, but the state of California is not. And so we are going to assert ourselves, we're going to lean in, and we are going to compete in this space," he said.

A strident political foe of Trump, Newsom has for months been teasing a run for the White House in 2028.

Spectators pressed up against a plexiglass barrier to watch him speak on one panel midday Tuesday. Dressed casually in a white business shirt in the sweltering tropical heat, Newsom made a point of casting climate change as a nonpartisan issue -- and listed climate actions made by two Republican presidents from California, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.

Though California is just one of 50 U.S. states, its economy is the world's fourth-largest - making it a key player in influencing markets and energy policy.

Flanked by U.N. security guards, Newsom was holding meetings with other officials from some of the 195 governments participating in the summit.

He said California's partnership on the issue was secure.

"But we can't do that without all of you ... So we're here with an open hand, not a closed fist."

On Monday, Newsom spoke with investors at a conference in the Brazilian financial hub of Sao Paulo, telling them the vacuum in U.S. climate leadership was "jaw-dropping."

Newsom has touted California's embrace of green tech, highlighting that the state has seven times more renewable energy jobs than fossil fuel jobs and reminding people that electric vehicle giant Tesla was founded in California.

Trump, in contrast, has falsely dismissed the issue of climate change as a "hoax" and aggressively sought to boost global use of polluting fossil fuels. Washington has conspicuously snubbed this year's COP30 summit.

Some diplomats worried that Trump's Republican administration might try to disrupt the summit from afar.

Newsom, a Democrat, said last month that he is mulling a presidential run in 2028. He has started to parrot Trump's brash style of messaging on social media.

Last week, California voters backed his proposal to redraw the state's voting districts to offset redistricting in other states aimed at boosting the number of congressional seats held by Republicans.

On Tuesday, Newsom noted that Trump's tenure was set to end in January 2029, even as Trump occasionally teases that he wants to seek a third term.

"He's the most unpopular president in U.S. history. That's why he's trying to rig the election," Newsom told reporters.

"Trump is temporary. He's reckless. He's chaotic," Newsom added. "People need to stand up. You need to stand up to a bully."

© Thomson Reuters 2025.