As Trump leaves America’s seat empty, Governor Newsom leads California delegation to UN climate summit in Türkiye

What you need to know: Governor Newsom is leading a California delegation to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, to showcase the Golden State's climate results, strengthen international partnerships, and accelerate proven solutions. The Trump administration is again refusing to send a delegation, leaving California and other American states and cities to demonstrate that U.S. climate leadership extends beyond Washington.

SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom is taking California's climate fight to COP31, the United Nations climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, leading a delegation to show world leaders that the Golden State's climate leadership is alive, delivering results and not slowing down.

The Trump administration is a no-show again. The U.S. State Department has confirmed it will not send a delegation to COP31, a year after Trump refused to send even a note-taker to last year's conference in Brazil. Since then, Trump has moved to pull the United States out of the UN climate treaty entirely, walked away from 65 other international organizations, and moved to roll back climate pollution limits on coal and gas power plants.

While Donald Trump sells out America's economic security to his fossil fuel donors, California isn't backing down from the climate fight. We'll keep cutting pollution, creating good-paying clean energy jobs, and building a safer, more resilient future for every Californian. States and local governments are where the promise of the Paris Agreement becomes real, and California keeps its word.

Trump is temporary. California's partnerships around the world are not.

Governor Gavin Newsom

California has a responsibility to lead by example - driving climate progress at home while building partnerships around the world to accelerate solutions that protect our planet. And we know we cannot meet this moment without women at the table. At COP31, we are proud to champion women's leadership and ensure more women have the opportunity and influence to help shape the climate solutions that will define our collective future.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

California is a reliable partner in an uncertain world

Last year at COP30 in Belém, California made sure the world knew America was still in, as the Trump administration failed to send even a note-taker. This year, the message is simple: California is delivering. With COP31 focused on turning global commitments into action, the Governor will return with partners including America Is All In, the U.S. Climate Alliance, and the Under2 Coalition to show what climate progress looks like on the ground and to work with leaders worldwide to scale proven solutions.

While at the conference, the Governor is expected to announce new climate partnerships and meet with world leaders and international partners, including Australia, which is leading this year's negotiations. He will also join vital discussions on the growing role of states and cities in delivering climate action, highlighting California's progress in cutting pollution, growing the economy, and creating jobs as the Trump administration abandons climate action at the federal level.

Representing the state's climate work to put these solutions into practice, the Governor is leading a delegation that includes:

• First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom
• Wade Crowfoot, Secretary, California Natural Resources Agency
• Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
• John Reynolds, President, California Public Utilities Commission
• Lauren Sanchez, Chair, California Air Resources Board
• Samuel Assefa, Director, Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation

California is delivering

California's delegation will emphasize that climate action is key to an affordability and economic security agenda. Building clean power and battery storage - and helping more Californians drive electric - means less dependence on volatile global oil and gas markets, and more control over our national security, economic, and energy future. Investing in resilience means protecting homes, businesses, and communities from costly wildfires, droughts, and floods.

California will bring a few examples of that work to COP31, including:

• Cutting pollution while growing the economy. California's climate pollution declined 3.9% in 2024 while its economy grew 3.2%. Since 2019, the state's economy has grown by more than $1.5 trillion.

• Making clean transportation more affordable. Californians have purchased 2.7 million zero-emission vehicles, and nearly 12,000 Californians switched to electric cars with incentives from California's MyFirstEV program. California also surpassed $1 billion in clean truck and bus incentives and launched a new electric truck rebate program expected to provide more than $1 billion through 2030.

• Delivering utility bill relief. The California Climate Credit provided $886 million in relief, with millions of households receiving an average of $75 this summer.

• Expanding clean energy and grid reliability. California's battery storage capacity has grown to more than 23,000 megawatts, up from nearly 17,000 megawatts at the time of COP30.

• Supporting cleaner industry and jobs. California's first new steel mill in 50 years, built to run on clean energy, is bringing more than $540 million in investment and nearly 450 jobs to Kern County.

• Delivering safe drinking water. One million Californians who relied on failing water systems now have access to clean drinking water.

• Protecting nature and expanding outdoor access. California has counted more than 3.5 million acres of land and coastal waters conserved while expanding opportunities for Californians to enjoy the outdoors.

California at COP31

COP31 is the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an annual global climate conference that brings together world leaders, scientists, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and civil society to advance action on climate change. Held in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9-20, 2026, the conference is hosted by Turkey, with Australia leading the negotiations. This year's focus is on implementation: turning climate commitments into concrete, measurable results.

As a founding member of the Under2 Coalition and the U.S. Climate Alliance and as co-chair of America Is All In, California is demonstrating how states and regions can sustain international cooperation, accelerate clean energy, and deliver climate solutions that lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen resilience - even as the federal government retreats.

California's climate leadership

Since Governor Newsom took office in 2019, California has added more than 39,000 megawatts of utility-scale clean energy to serve the California grid. That's helped make the grid more reliable and pushed the state further along its path in the clean energy transition.

The most recent numbers, from the end of 2024, show real progress: 67% of retail electricity sales in the state already come from clean energy. Last year, clean energy met 100% of the state's electricity needs for at least part of the day on 279 separate days.

Solar and battery storage have been a key part of that progress, and are changing how California keeps the lights on. Since 2019, battery resources serving California grew from fewer than 700 megawatts to more than 23,000 megawatts - an increase of more than 3,100%. Batteries store solar power when it is abundant and deliver it after sunset. That reduces how often the state needs to run natural gas plants, which cuts air pollution and supports a more cost-effective electricity system.

California's approach is also where the money is heading. Global investors are now putting roughly two dollars into clean-energy technology for every dollar that goes into fossil fuels. California is leading that shift while Donald Trump watches from the sidelines.

For California, that means investing in the good-paying jobs of the future. The Golden State is the fourth-largest economy in the world and leads the nation in total clean energy jobs, with 552,300 workers employed across clean energy technologies, nearly twice as many as the second-ranked state, Texas, according to a 2025 report from E2. California's clean energy workforce grew by nearly 7,300 workers in 2024, outpacing job growth in the rest of the state's economy by more than three times.