(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom flew to Brazil this week for the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP30.<\/p>\n
Newsom’s office said the Democratic governor is leading discussions on the environment, signing non-binding deals with foreign leaders, and delivering speeches about climate change and the economy.<\/p>\n
Newsom also signed a memorandum<\/a> with Helder Barbalho, the governor of the Brazilian state of Par\u00e1. The memo, which is not legally binding, aims to allow for collaboration between California and Par\u00e1 to enhance wildfire protection and response. It does not involve any exchange of money.<\/p>\n Newsom has also led or participated in discussions with other nations\u2019 elected leaders and environmental advocates about issues as wide-ranging as clean energy, indigenous communities and biodiversity.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Donald Trump skips the world stage, California is showing up \u2014 leading, partnering, and proving what American climate leadership looks like,\u201d Newsom said in a news release<\/a> Tuesday. \u201cThe world can count on California to keep leading and innovating as we build the future with cleaner air, good jobs, and economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite all the activity at this week’s conference, one expert voiced doubts that Newsom\u2019s actions in Brazil will have any effect on climate change, wildfire reduction or anything else the governor discusses or signs.<\/p>\n \u201cPoliticians do politician things, and fresh off of his success on Prop. 50, and it looks like he\u2019s positioning himself politically as the foil to the Trump administration,\u201d Steven Greenhut, director of Free Cities Center at the Pacific Research Institute, told The Center Square. \u201cHe\u2019s certainly building his credential for a likely presidential run.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom previously told “CBS Sunday Morning” he was considering a presidential run<\/a>, but would not announce a formal decision until after the 2026 midterm elections. He also successfully pushed for a mid-decade redistricting effort to give congressional Democrats an advantage in the midterm elections next year, which California voters approved in the Nov. 4 special election through the Proposition 50 ballot initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Newsom touts California\u2019s political leadership at the COPS30 conference, energy researchers back in the U.S. have conducted research that they say show Newsom should be more focused on other issues. According to research conducted by the Pacific Research Institute<\/a>, California\u2019s green energy transition will cost California\u2019s households some significant costs as the state executes green energy mandates. Each household will bear the cost of between $17,398 and $20,182 between 2025 and 2050, the report found, which includes the cost of paying for building new infrastructure, and decommissioning and dismantling natural gas and nuclear plants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t allow gas prices to soar, and there are new energy rules that are likely going to drive up the cost of gasoline even more,\u201d Greenhut told The Center Square. \u201cThat would be disastrous for his political ambitions, as well as disastrous for consumer pocketbooks.\u201d<\/p>\n