BELÉM, Brazil — Gov. Gavin Newsom may be a climate president in waiting, but as a governor, he has one glaring weakness: He can’t sign treaties with other countries.
Newsom is returning to a time-tested technique to exercise soft power at COP 30 this week: signing voluntary agreements, joint statements and other pointedly nonbinding memorandums of understanding.
Newsom and his administration inked new pacts with a bevy of governments both national and local, including Nigeria, the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the host Brazilian state of Pará. They join a long roster of agreements stretching back decades, including a program former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set up to promote collaboration on forests and climate with governors from places like Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia and former Gov. Jerry Brown’s Under 2 Coalition, launched with Baden-Württemberg, to promote subnational climate action.
“It’s a part of a building,” Newsom told POLITICO while in Brazil. “It’s about continuity. It’s about calling cards. It’s about relationships.”
