American absence at climate talks met with regret — and relief

“The old U.S. would back up the EU on many issues. But you’ve seen how they now behave in other fora,” said one European negotiator at the United Nations climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where countries were preparing the ground for November’s COP30 summit in Brazil.  

Upon his return to the White House in January, President Donald Trump got to work dismantling U.S. climate policy at home and abroad, leaving the landmark Paris climate accord for a second time and vowing to double down on the use of planet-warming fossil fuels. 

But unlike during Trump’s first term, the U.S. has also sought to hamper climate efforts in global settings — trying to disrupt a recent agreement on reducing shipping pollution, withdrawing from international climate science efforts, and pressuring bodies like the International Energy Agency, the World Bank and even NATO to drop green commitments.

“This time, in addition to not participating in Paris-related meetings, they seem to be taking a much broader view of what has been targeted, which is essentially everything related to climate,” said Sue Biniaz, the former deputy U.S. climate envoy. 

Until the U.S. confirmed in mid-June that they would skip this year’s talks in Bonn, “the concern was that they would show up and sabotage it,” said a Latin American negotiator, who like many diplomats who spoke to POLITICO was granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on behalf of their governments. 

“The general sense is, it’s not that bad they’re not here,” they added. “For the world, for cutting emissions, it’s of course terrible. For negotiations, it makes things easier.”