BELEM, Brazil — Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse arrived at global climate talks here on Friday to throw his support behind a global carbon tax and encourage countries to stand strong in the face of attacks from the Trump administration — which is skipping the summit.
“The Trump administration simply does not represent the American public on climate issues,” Whitehouse, top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, told reporters ahead of planning meetings at COP30. “What you are seeing is fossil fuel corruption in action.”
This year’s talks come as President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and a “con job,” rolls back measures at home to stem rising temperatures and seeks to undermine green efforts internationally.
The White House says Trump is engaging with other countries on energy issues and won’t “jeopardize our country’s economic and national security to pursue vague climate goals that are killing other countries.”
