A possible Democratic contender for the White House says he’s at the COP summit with an “open hand not a closed fist” – as he vowed not to let China dominate the green space.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has for months been teasing a bid for the next presidential election in 2028.
Sky News asked him at COP30 in Brazil if he was using it to drum up support for his campaign.
“I’m here in the absence of leadership from Donald Trump, who’s abdicated responsibility on a critical issue,” he said.
The Republican president has ignored the meeting of tens of thousands of people in Belem, leaving the stage wide open for Democrats to swoop in and lob criticism from afar.
Mr Newsom is a longstanding political foe of US President Donald Trump – they trade insults like “Gavin Newscum” and “The Nodfather”.
He added the switch to green energy is about “more than electric power”.
“It’s about economic power,” Mr Newsom said, “and I’m not going to cede America’s economic leadership to China.”
When he took office this year, Donald Trump cancelled clean energy projects and subsidies.
Meanwhile China is making eight in ten of the world’s solar panels and seven in ten electric vehicles – while also producing more coal than any other country.
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