Pelosi, SEEC Democrats Sound Alarm on U.S. Absence at COP30

Washington, D.C. - Today, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi joined Democratic Members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC)-Reps. Doris Matsui, Sean Casten, Yassamin Ansari, Kathy Castor, Maxine Dexter, Jared Huffman, and April McClain Delaney-at a press conference blasting President Donald Trump for the federal government's absence at the key international climate negotiations in Belem, Brazil (COP30) this week.

Pelosi and her colleagues were part of a federal delegation set to go to Belem but were waylaid by President Trump's government shutdown. Even as Trump fails to show leadership at home and abroad, SEEC and millions of Americans remain clear-eyed and committed in the midst of the global fight to build a more affordable, clean, and healthy future for America and the world.

The full press conference is available to be viewed HERE.(link is external)

"When I became Speaker for the first time, my flagship issue was the climate crisis because I saw it as a health, economic, security, and moral issue," said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. "It is so sad that the United States of America, one of the biggest economies of the world and one of the leading emitters of the world, is not there in Brazil to protect God's creation. I do believe this planet is God's creation and we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of it for the benefit of our country and for our children."

"Folks behind me would have been a fantastic congressional delegation to the Belem climate conference this week. That's where we were supposed to be. The world still needs and wants American leadership. And unfortunately, the consequence of Donald Trump pulling the United States delegation out at the federal level is just that China is going to get a few more of these amazing opportunities that the United States ought to be leading on," said Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources Congressman Jared Huffman. "We're not going away, just like the climate crisis is not going away. Climate action leadership at the national level is not going to stop. Even in Brazil, we're super proud of what's happening at the sub-national level, with states and local governments, tribes, so many leaders in the United States are carrying the message to Brazil this week that America is still in and we will do our part to do that as well, even though Donald Trump and our Republican colleagues are going to try to stop us at every turn."

"This is the year that marks the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the agreement where just about every country on the planet agreed to cut climate pollution in order to avoid the worst impacts and the escalating cost of the heating climate," said Congresswoman Kathy Castor. "House Democrats - and especially the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition - most states, most local communities, businesses large and small, environmental justice organizations, scientists, religious organizations, all remain committed to that goal, even in the face of Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress turning a blind eye to the growing costs and escalating catastrophic events that are impacting us."

"For the first time in history, the Trump Administration did not send a federal delegation to the UN climate change summit, instead choosing to boycott this critical global summit. Let me be blunt: this is a national disgrace. When the United States doesn't show up, we cede leadership to other countries," said SEEC Co-Chair Congresswoman Doris Matsui. "SEEC Institute helped put together a powerful Congressional Delegation to meet with other countries and with civil society to show, plainly, that America has leaders who will rise to meet the challenge. That is what responsible leadership is all about: to show up, negotiate, build coalitions, and deliver solutions that lower costs and preserve our future. America will return. The question is not if, but when. And when we do, we'll come back stronger and more determined than ever to lead the fight against climate change."

"This group of people here, plus Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, would have been the entirety of the U.S. federal presence in COP," said Congressman Sean Casten. "We did not have a budget from the House to travel for that trip. We did not have money from the State Department. We did not have the kind of diplomatic support that normally happens when you travel as a representative of the government. And yet everybody here was committed to going, because we knew how important our voice would be, because this is an enormously important COP."

"Exactly 10 years ago, I was preparing to go to my very first COP, COP21 in Paris, when I was serving as an advisor to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's climate team. I can tell you firsthand that without the leadership of the United States, the Paris Agreement would've never happened. What has happened since then, with Donald Trump leading the charge with oil and gas companies, is an absolute disgrace and an abdication of the United States' responsibility to the world," said Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari. "It is a disgrace that there is no federal presence representing the United States of America on the world stage when every other country in the world is present. But as we always do, we will continue the work on the ground here. We will come back stronger than ever. We will make sure to end the corruption that is making life so much more expensive for the American people."