At a significant climate summit held at the United Nations this past Wednesday, an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations convened to present their updated commitments for curbing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decade.
From global powerhouses like China, Russia, Japan, and Germany to numerous small island nations and even the world’s least developed countries, including Chad and the Central African Republic, representatives from across the geopolitical spectrum were present. Notably, Venezuela, Syria, and Iran also participated.
Conspicuously absent from this global gathering was the United States.
Few global issues underscore the United States’ diplomatic isolation more starkly than climate change. President Trump’s outspoken opposition to renewable energy, voiced during his address at the United Nations General Assembly, starkly contrasts with the global trend of rapid development in wind, solar, and other clean energy sectors. This surge in renewable energy adoption is evident even in major oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia, which is aggressively expanding its solar power capabilities.
Opening the summit on Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared, “We are at the dawn of a new energy era.”
The core of the U.S. stance rests on the Trump administration’s fundamental assertion that transitioning to renewable energy inevitably leads to economic collapse—a claim largely refuted by economists, researchers, and political leaders worldwide.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump warned global leaders, “If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail,” urging nations, particularly in Europe and Asia, to increase their purchases of U.S.-produced energy. As the world’s leading producer of both oil and natural gas, the United States, under Mr. Trump, has prioritized boosting its fossil fuel exports.
According to the 2015 Paris Agreement, a landmark pact aimed at limiting global warming, almost every nation on Earth agreed to submit increasingly ambitious plans for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions every five years. Wednesday’s event felt much like world leaders diligently turning in their somewhat delayed assignments.
While the Biden administration submitted an updated pledge just before Mr. Trump assumed office, one of Mr. Trump’s initial policy decisions was to declare the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
In stark contrast to Mr. Trump’s message, 121 countries at Wednesday’s climate summit were poised to announce commitments to curb global emissions. Their motivations extend beyond mitigating catastrophic global warming, recognizing that renewable energy sources are becoming more cost-effective than anticipated. In many instances, renewables now generate electricity more cheaply than fossil fuel plants, reinforcing the belief among some nations that solar and wind power can drive economic growth and enhance energy security by reducing dependence on imported coal, oil, or gas.
This perspective was echoed by Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, during an event on Monday. “We need decision-makers everywhere to understand that replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy will not come at the expense of prosperity, but is a prerequisite for future prosperity,” he asserted.
During his remarks at the General Assembly on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres characterized fossil fuels as “a losing bet.”
Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Among its initial policies, the Trump administration moved to dismantle incentives for developing solar and wind power projects and purchasing electric vehicles. Concurrently, it fast-tracked permits for coal mines, natural gas shipping terminals, and other fossil fuel infrastructure initiatives.
Earlier this year, many world leaders worried that the Trump administration’s aggressive stance against renewables might cause a global reversal in the energy transition. However, they have since affirmed their commitment to advancing these efforts, regardless of U.S. participation.
Wopke Hoekstra, the European Union’s climate commissioner, stated that President Trump’s policies appear to have no impact on the climate ambitions of other nations, including the 27-member E.U. bloc.
“We are doing the exact opposite of what the U.S. is doing, which, by the way, I find concerning and problematic,” he remarked in a recent interview. “The world’s most phenomenal geopolitical player, its largest economy, its second-largest emitter, is basically checking out.”
The most significant announcement on Wednesday originated from Beijing. While China is currently the largest emitter of greenhouse gases due to its extensive coal consumption, its globally dominant solar and wind power industries are also spearheading not only its own transition away from fossil fuels but also contributing significantly to the global energy transition, as numerous studies confirm.
Via video link on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping informed world leaders that China aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels by 2035, a peak it is reportedly approaching this year. He further announced plans to boost China’s share of “non-fossil fuels” to over 30 percent and to achieve a sixfold increase in its installed wind and solar power capacity by the same deadline.
Without explicitly mentioning the United States, Mr. Xi appeared to allude to its absence from the climate summit. He asserted that “while some country is acting against it,” referring to the shift towards low-emission fuels, “the international community should stay focused on the right direction.”
The European Union followed with its own announcement. Although its emissions-reduction pledge is not yet finalized, E.U. lawmakers have provisionally committed to cutting emissions by 66 to 72 percent by 2035, relative to 1990 levels. Mr. Hoekstra indicated that the final terms would be set before the COP30 international climate talks commence in Brazil in early November.
However, Europe’s climate goals face a significant challenge in balancing its commitments with its relationship with the United States. During trade negotiations with Washington, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged in August to purchase $750 billion in American fuels by the end of Mr. Trump’s term. Analysts suggest that fulfilling such a promise, deemed almost logistically impossible, would severely undermine the continent’s progress toward renewable energy sources.