Nov. 14, 2025 5 AM PT
To the editor: Kudos to Gov. Gavin Newsom for stepping up to fill the void that the Trump administration has left as the president abdicates our country’s global leadership on climate change and instead attacks environmental science and kowtows to the fossil fuel industry (“At Brazilian climate summit, Newsom positions California as a stand-in for the U.S.,” Nov. 12).
Our governor’s presence at the COP30 meeting in Brazil is evidence of the fact that most Americans still have grave concerns about our warming planet and believe that a coordinated global strategy is needed. Now more than ever, with the federal government absent on the issue, our state of California must lead at the national and international level to advance sensible climate policies that are focused on the rapid development and adoption of affordable clean energy solutions.
Chad Edwards, Altadena
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To the editor: Newsom demonstrates more commitment to climate change than President Trump, but that’s a low bar. Every electric vehicle buyer is managing that.
A large delegation at the United Nations conference doesn’t guarantee reduced emissions. Preventing an electric utility from behaving like a private corporation as it tries to impede solar panel installations does. Not buckling under threats from oil refineries and holding the line on new oil drilling does.
Years of inspiring but vague language has left us facing hellish heating. Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists asserts that “world leaders still have the power to sharply cut these emissions” (“California steps in as Trump skips global climate summit in Brazil,” Nov. 7). But their will to do so is debatable. Global leadership that remains comfortable in the pockets of the Michael Milkens of the world will prioritize “abundance” and “economic opportunity.” This profit-seeking is what put us where we are now. People over profit is not a slogan — it’s survival.
Gary Stewart, Laguna Beach