Governor Newsom slams “brainless Trump” for surrendering global leadership, ceding jobs and economic ground to China

SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom today issued the following statement in response to President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the United Nations climate framework:

By withdrawing from the United Nations climate framework and 65 other international organizations, our brainless president is surrendering America's leadership on the world stage and weakening our ability to compete in the economy of the future - creating a leadership vacuum that China is already exploiting.

California will not back down in our leadership. As the world's fourth-largest economy, the Golden State will continue working with states, cities, and international allies to lower energy costs, reduce toxic pollution, protect public health, and ensure Americans are not denied the enormous economic and health benefits of the clean energy future.

Governor Gavin Newsom

California's on the world stage

Last year, Governor Newsom's administration wrapped up a landmark trip to Brazil for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), where California stepped into the U.S. leadership void left by the Trump administration. Over the course of the conference, the Governor and California's delegation forged strategic partnerships across three continents, announced breakthrough clean energy achievements, and elevated Indigenous voices and subnational leadership on the world stage.

California's leadership, as both a founder of the Under2 Coalition and co-chair of national climate alliances, exemplifies how states and regions are driving progress where national governments fall short.

California's climate leadership in action

Pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 21% since 2000 - even as the state's GDP increased 81% in that same time period, all while becoming the world's fourth largest economy.

California also continues to set clean energy records. In 2023, the state was powered by two-thirds clean energy, the largest economy in the world to achieve this level. California has also run on 100% clean electricity for part of the day almost every day last year.

Since the beginning of the Newsom Administration, battery storage has surged to nearly 17,000 megawatts - a 2,100%+ increase, and over 30,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to the electric grid. California now has 33 percent of the storage capacity estimated to be needed by 2045 to reach 100 percent clean electricity.