Supervisor Lynda Hopkins on her attendance at the U.N.’s annual climate summit and the Trump administration’s “astounding” absence

Among the world leaders, climate scientists and international delegates who attended the United Nations’ annual climate summit, held this year in Brazil, Sonoma County also sent a number of representatives, including Supervisor Lynda Hopkins.

The summit serves as the annual meeting place for world leaders to negotiate multilateral decisions focused on addressing climate change. Outside of those discussions, the convention draws activists, journalists and delegates from around the world representing local communities, nonprofits and businesses.

While it may seem unusual for a county supervisor to attend an international summit of such a large scale, this year’s gathering, COP30, marked Hopkins’ second U.N. climate summit. She also went to COP26 in Scotland in 2021.

This year Hopkins was on hand as board chair of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. She attended during the convention’s first week, from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14. Her trip and stay were paid for by the air district and out of her campaign funds, she said.

“The benefit is really in the exchange of ideas and the opportunity to meet with other sub-nationals from around the world,” Hopkins said.

She sat in on panel discussions involving wildfires, energy and water, and attended events featuring Gov. Gavin Newsom, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and former Vice President Al Gore.

Hopkins touted the opportunity to connect with other American officials involved in climate change policy, including California state Sens. Henry Stern and Josh Becker, and California Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, who she first met in Scotland.

Those connections, she said, help to raise the profile of Sonoma County as it faces is own climate and natural resource challenges, including fallout from PG&E’s bid to remove two Lake County dams and efforts to preserve wild and working open spaces. But she acknowledged she could not “draw a precise line” between those relationships and the county’s ability to secure funding.

“Having those relationships matters, having an opportunity for a one-on-one conversation to explain what we’re doing in Sonoma county, why we’re doing it, sharing our message, is very important,” Hopkins said.

Particularly significant at this year’s summit was the Trump administration’s glaring absence, Hopkins noted. The United States is the world’s second largest carbon polluter.

Hopkins, who is a registered Democrat, called the administration’s decision to sit out the summit “astounding” during a press conference hosted at COP30 by The Climate Center, a Santa Rosa-based think-tank focused on reducing climate pollution and enhancing climate resilience. The press conference focused on highlighted climate action work that continues in the United States despite President’s Trump’s avowed rejection of climate science, global warming and policies to address current and future impacts.

“To be clear I didn’t vote for the guy,” Hopkins said in her remarks. “We do have a president who is not only really trying to destroy the social safety net and also environmental infrastructure that our country is built on, but also really doing that to the world right now.”

It also is not an unusual turn for Hopkins, speaking out on state and national politics. She’ll often voixw comments — and criticism — from the dais and on Facebook about a wide range of pressing issues. In August, she wrote a lengthy Facebook post taking issue with the partisan redrawing of California’s congressional map, promoted by Newsom and fellow Democrats as a way to counter Texas’ moves to favor Republicans in the House of Representatives.

The platform from which Hopkins called out the Trump administration’s absence from COP30 was arguably much larger.

“If you just pretend that everything is normal, that’s disingenuous,” Hopkins said in an interview Tuesday.

Hopkins and her fellow board members have spent much of this year grappling with how to respond to the Trump administration’s policies impacting immigrants and funding for safety net services, infrastructure and emergency preparedness.

The county has joined a number of lawsuits challenging the federal government over new grant funding requirements, and the Board of Supervisors, in January, passed a resolution expressing support for local immigrants, including individuals without documentation.

Hopkins pointed to those actions as examples of the county’s strong stance in response to policy changes, though the board has resisted local calls to declare Sonoma County a sanctuary for immigrants, citing concerns that doing so would make the county a target.

“I try to be the same person in front of the camera that I am in private conversations, and I think it’s pretty clear where we stand as a county,” Hopkins said.

Now that she’s back in Sonoma County, Hopkins plans to put some lessons learned from COP30 to use. High on her list is enhancing stewardship of the Russian River by revamping a coalition involving many agencies that touch the watershed.

Hopkins said she and Supervisor James Gore will be forming a board committee focused on improved Russian River governance.

“The hope is ultimately environmental restoration,” Hopkins said. “The goal is always swimmable, fishable, drinkable.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.