Trump's energy secretary slams UN climate conference in Brazil, where US absence is glaring

ATHENS, Greece -- U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright connected Friday condemned the COP30 biology summit arsenic harmful and misguided — defying the planetary technological statement and interest by governments worldwide connected clime change.

“It’s fundamentally a hoax. It’s not an honorable enactment looking to amended quality lives,” Wright told The Associated Press astatine the adjacent of a two-day concern league successful Athens. He added that helium mightiness be adjacent year's acme “just to effort to present immoderate communal sense.”

Wright’s comments came arsenic satellite leaders gathering implicit 5,000 miles away, connected the borderline of the Amazon successful Brazil, blasted U.S. President Donald Trump for his lack from the United Nations-sponsored discussions connected climate change moving done Nov. 21. His remarks echoed the U.S. administration’s rejection of planetary clime agreements and Trump's prioritization of fossil fuels.

The U.S. volition nonstop nary high-level officials to the COP30 clime acme successful Brazil, the White House said Friday.

“President Trump volition not jeopardize our country’s economical and nationalist information to prosecute vague clime goals that are sidesplitting different countries,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said successful a statement.

Wright led a elder U.S. delegation to Athens for talks centered connected boosting U.S. liquefied earthy state exports to eastbound Europe and Ukraine. Among them were Interior caput Doug Burgum, lawman secretaries and the caller U.S. ambassador to Greece and close Trump ally, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

At the forum, apical U.S. officials criticized European Union c simplification policies, arguing they undermine economical growth, antiauthoritarian alliances, and planetary enactment successful AI and vigor innovation.

It was a stark opposition with the Brazilian metropolis of Belem, wherever world leaders astatine COP30 issued urgent warnings astir the accelerating gait of planetary warming, driven successful ample portion by emissions from burning fossil fuels similar oil, state and coal. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said a “moral failure” to enactment would trigger rising hunger, displacement, and biology damage.

Backed by overwhelming technological consensus, the U.N. reaffirmed that clime alteration is already underway, requiring urgent planetary enactment to forestall irreversible harm.

Latin American leaders attending COP30 successful Belem took swipes astatine Trump for his stance connected clime discussions.

“Today Mr. Trump is against humanity. His lack is impervious of that,” Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said successful his code connected Thursday. “What should we bash then? Leave him alone. Oblivion is the biggest punishment.”

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva struck a much mean code regarding Trump’s absence, expressing anticipation that his U.S. counterpart would yet alteration his mind.

“President Trump told maine helium doesn’t judge successful greenish energy, Lula told reporters earlier this week. “He volition judge successful it, due to the fact that he'll recognize that we don’t person overmuch of an alternative.”

Trump wasn’t the lone 1 staying away; the acme was besides notably absent of leaders from China and India. Together, these 3 nations are the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

Wright — a erstwhile fossil substance enforcement who has been a starring dependable against efforts to combat clime alteration — defended Washington’s stance, arguing that planetary gatherings should prioritize vigor access, maturation and technological advancement implicit what helium described arsenic fear-driven environmentalism.

“Gatherings of planetary leaders and businesses should beryllium astir humans … not connected the tendency to scare children and turn authorities power,” helium told the AP successful Athens. “They’ve mislaid the plot.”

The Belem talks opened arsenic the U.N. upwind bureau announced that 2025 was connected way to beryllium the 2nd oregon 3rd warmest twelvemonth ever recorded. The attraction of greenhouse gases successful the atmosphere, which deed a grounds precocious past year, continued to emergence successful 2025, arsenic did water vigor and oversea levels, the World Meteorological Organization reported Thursday.

Trump has reversed Biden’s absorption connected slowing clime alteration to prosecute what the Republican calls U.S. “energy dominance” successful the planetary market. At the U.N. General Assembly successful September, helium called climate change “the top con occupation ever perpetrated connected the world.”

At the commencement of his 2nd term, Trump again withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris clime agreement, portion the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a bid of actions to roll backmost landmark regulations.

Trump created a National Energy Dominance Council and directed it to determination rapidly to thrust up already record-high U.S. vigor production, peculiarly fossil fuels specified arsenic lipid and earthy gas, and region regulatory barriers. Under executive orders, the EPA and different national agencies person sought to revive coal, a reliable but polluting vigor root that’s agelong been shrinking amid biology regulations and contention from cheaper earthy gas.

Meanwhile, Trump’s medication has blocked renewable vigor sources specified arsenic offshore wind and canceled billions of dollars successful grants that supported hundreds of cleanable vigor projects crossed the country.

“Perhaps successful nary different clip successful past person leaders successful Washington been much determined to propulsion the United States backwards successful the combat against the clime crisis," Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Friday successful a statement.

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Savarese reported from Belem. AP newsman Matthew Daly contributed from Washington.

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