(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom flew to Brazil this week for the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP30.
Newsom’s office said the Democratic governor is leading discussions on the environment, signing non-binding deals with foreign leaders, and delivering speeches about climate change and the economy.
Newsom also signed a memorandum with Helder Barbalho, the governor of the Brazilian state of Pará. The memo, which is not legally binding, aims to allow for collaboration between California and Pará to enhance wildfire protection and response. It does not involve any exchange of money.
Newsom has also led or participated in discussions with other nations’ elected leaders and environmental advocates about issues as wide-ranging as clean energy, indigenous communities and biodiversity.
“While Donald Trump skips the world stage, California is showing up — leading, partnering, and proving what American climate leadership looks like,” Newsom said in a news release Tuesday. “The world can count on California to keep leading and innovating as we build the future with cleaner air, good jobs, and economic growth.”
Despite all the activity at this week’s conference, one expert voiced doubts that Newsom’s actions in Brazil will have any effect on climate change, wildfire reduction or anything else the governor discusses or signs.
“Politicians do politician things, and fresh off of his success on Prop. 50, and it looks like he’s positioning himself politically as the foil to the Trump administration,” Steven Greenhut, director of Free Cities Center at the Pacific Research Institute, told The Center Square. “He’s certainly building his credential for a likely presidential run.”
Newsom previously told “CBS Sunday Morning” he was considering a presidential run, but would not announce a formal decision until after the 2026 midterm elections. He also successfully pushed for a mid-decade redistricting effort to give congressional Democrats an advantage in the midterm elections next year, which California voters approved in the Nov. 4 special election through the Proposition 50 ballot initiative.
While Newsom touts California’s political leadership at the COPS30 conference, energy researchers back in the U.S. have conducted research that they say show Newsom should be more focused on other issues. According to research conducted by the Pacific Research Institute, California’s green energy transition will cost California’s households some significant costs as the state executes green energy mandates. Each household will bear the cost of between $17,398 and $20,182 between 2025 and 2050, the report found, which includes the cost of paying for building new infrastructure, and decommissioning and dismantling natural gas and nuclear plants.
“We can’t allow gas prices to soar, and there are new energy rules that are likely going to drive up the cost of gasoline even more,” Greenhut told The Center Square. “That would be disastrous for his political ambitions, as well as disastrous for consumer pocketbooks.”
California continues to have the highest gas prices in the U.S. The price Thursday was $4.681 a gallon, well above the national average of $3.08, according to AAA.
Meanwhile, Newsom’s office said the governor’s flight to Brazil, his security detail, travel and accommodations within the country were not funded by taxpayer dollars.
“Consistent with past years and previous administrations — across parties — the Newsom Administration’s travel to COP30 is not at taxpayer expense,” wrote Izzy Gordon, the communications director for Newsom’s office, in response to a public records request from The Center Square. “As has been the case for decades, the trip is supported through non-state funds, with the California State Protocol Foundation covering costs for the Governor, administration officials, and staff attending. The Governor flew commercial. There is no family traveling with him.”
Public policy, environmental and climate change experts at University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; Stanford University and the Environmental Defense Fund were not available to answer questions from The Center Square about the effectiveness of Newsom’s efforts at COP30.
