COP29: US climate envoy denounces Trump denialism

Analysis: I experienced a little bit of sensory overload on Monday afternoon, in a massive tent city in the middle of the Baku Olympic Stadium (which has, by the way, never hosted an Olympic event).There was so much to see (40,000 attendees from 200 nations, plus big bold graphics proclaiming the petrostate’s climate summit was “in solidarity for a greener world”) and smell (the sweet spiced Azerbaijanian shekerbura pastry as well as a faint whiff of Azerbaijanian diesel), that I almost didn’t hear the last gasp of the Biden administration’s climate leadership.US climate envoy John Podesta delivered an excoriating speech to a room of reporters on Monday, denouncing President-elect Donald Trump’s climate denialism.
“For those of us dedicated to climate action, last week’s outcome in the United States is obviously bitterly disappointing,” he said. “In January, we will inaugurate a President whose relationship to climate change is captured by the words ‘hoax’ and ‘fossil fuels’.” Podesta went on to tout Biden’s hard work on climate policy, including rejoining the Paris Agreement, setting an ambitious emissions reduction target and passing the Inflation Reduction Act which contains billions of dollars of subsidies for clean technologies. As fiery as Podesta was, though, it all felt a bit meaningless. In two months, he’ll be gone. His domestic counterpart, National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, will likely be replaced with North Dakota governor Doug Burgum as a new “energy czar”. Burgum has called climate policy a “full-on assault on liquid fuels”. Almost certainly on day one, Trump will sign an executive order pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement. A year later, that withdrawal will become active and the world’s second largest emitter will drop out of global efforts to limit warming. In his remarks, Podesta apologised for the United States’ unreliable leadership. “I am keenly aware of the disappointment that the United States has at times caused the parties of the climate regime, who have lived through a pattern of strong, engaged, effective US leadership, followed by sudden disengagement after a US presidential election,” he said. He said efforts would continue, even under Trump, to reduce emissions. Climate policy is bigger than one election, or political cycle, or even country, he said. That was meant as a unifying call. To argue that this is a global mission, not a mission that needs a leader. It’s a convenient thing to say when the US suddenly drops off the map. “Can you save our seat? We’ll be back, I promise!” And while the world did save a seat for four years during Trump’s last presidency, the world is a different place now. China is the world’s biggest emitter but also generates more wind and solar power than any other nation. On Monday, Podesta dodged a question on whether China will pick up the role of climate leader – which itself spoke volumes. Given the centrality of renewables and low-emissions development to geopolitics, any vacuum left by America will soon be filled by another. Already, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has promised that at COP29, “the UK will step up and lead – to protect our people, and play our part in securing a future for our planet”.