The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP30, took place in Belèm, Brazil in November. One hundred ninety three countries plus the European Union registered delegations for the summit. The only countries not officially attending were Afghanistan, Myanmar, San Marino, and the United States.
The US was a major player in the creation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and has been a world leader in addressing the challenge of climate change. But no longer. COP30 is likely to be remembered as the moment when China took over the lead.
China, with its massive population and industrial growth is still the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. However, it is also dedicated to the global energy transition and is the primary purveyor of the means to achieve that transition. China produces 80% of all solar panels and more than 70% of all electric vehicles. It has also brought down the cost of solar panels by almost 90% and reduced the overall capital expenditure costs for renewable projects by 70%.
While the US has no federal delegation to COP30, more than 100 state and local US leaders including governors and mayors did attend and American states and regions made progress while the national government sat out.
Delegations from other countries welcomed the non-participation of the current U.S. government, as they expected it to only be disruptive towards the goals of the conference. The battle over the substance of global energy is at the center of what could be called a new eco-ideological Cold War for leadership and economic strength. The U.S. has decided to lose.
