SACRAMENTO, CA — This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom is on the world stage as the highest-profile U.S. elected official at the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Belém, Brazil. 

The Trump administration has failed to send any top government officials, marking the first time the U.S. has not had a presence at the global climate talks. Newsom touted during a press conference in Brazil that “increasingly the polluted heart of the climate crisis appears to be Donald Trump.” In response to President Trump’s threat to restart oil drilling off the California Coast, Newsom said it’s “dead on arrival.”

As the federal government retreats from climate commitments, state and local leaders like California are playing an increasingly important role in holding the line. Yet, advocates working to move California beyond fossil fuels note that Newsom himself has backtracked on key in-state commitments to hold Big Oil accountable.

In response, groups with Last Chance Alliance issue the following statements:

“Gavin Newsom is right, the root of the climate crisis is fossil fuel production. That’s why we need him to stop the expansion of oil drilling in California, which was recently boosted by a bill he signed into law this fall. Americans want clean affordable energy, and it’s not only the rule of “D-O-N” getting in the way of that – It’s fossil fuel corporations that rake in billions while working people pay higher energy bills and suffer in fires and hurricanes at home.” —Allie Rosenbluth, US Campaign Manager, Oil Change International, said from Belem.

“While Governor Newsom has in the past shown leadership in the fight against climate change, he is now backpedaling and caving to Big Oil by extending bailouts to oil refineries and expanding drilling across California. He knows the science: we have to rapidly phase out oil and gas production. He can’t stand up to Trump unless he also stands up to Big Oil – and his backsliding to Big Oil shows a failure to lead California through the energy transition and a lack of vision and boldness.” —Ilonka Zlatar – California Organizer, with Oil and Gas Action Network

“At COP30, Governor Newsom is showing the world that climate progress is alive in the United States despite the pro-oil, anti-science climate denier in the White House. Stepping into this void of global climate leadership is critical, but we in California know that there is much more Newsom can do in his final months as governor to cement his climate legacy. We urge the governor to stand firm against Big Oil and corporate utilities to deliver on the promise of clean, affordable energy for all.”—Ellie Cohen, CEO, The Climate Center

“Governor Newsom may be at COP touting his climate record and setting himself up as the antithesis to Trump’s anti-climate rhetoric and policies. However, back at home in California we’ve witnessed firsthand Newsom’s backsliding on climate and his failure to keep promises to communities living with pollution and dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure in their neighborhoods.”—Food & Water Watch California Director Nicole Ghio 

“Governor Newsom is correct that fossil fuels are the culprit of the climate crisis, and his leadership in the face of climate denial by the Trump administration is essential. His participation at COP30 underscores the many ways California and the Amazon are connected. When the Amazon burns, California dries — fueling the very wildfires devastating our communities. Yet California keeps adding fuel to the fire by importing crude from the Amazon, one of the main drivers of deforestation and climate chaos. Governor Newsom has a real opportunity to lead by cutting off Amazon oil imports and ending new fossil fuel extraction here at home.”—Kevin Koenig, Climate and Extractive Industry Director, Amazon Watch

“It is heartening to read that Governor Newsom announced in Brazil that he would strongly oppose the Trump administration’s plans to open up California to offshore oil drilling for the first time in decades, saying this plan would be “dead on arrival in California.” We expect the Governor to demonstrate similar resolve by standing up to greedy fossil fuel interests in our state by stopping plans and taxpayer-funded subsidies to expand extractive operations that gravely threaten the health of our most vulnerable communities, and pose great harm to our planet’s future.”—Robert M. Gould, MD, President, San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility

“We love seeing the United States of America represented by our California Governor and learning that he has declared to the oil companies and the world that President Trump’s plans for drilling oil off of our beautiful coast would be ‘dead on arrival.’  When Governor Newsom returns to the State that has often led the way on climate issues we look forward to his last year in leadership being full of walking the good talk he’s showing up with in Brazil. Still, given the climate emergency we are in, we demand that he do more – by taking strong steps promised by President Biden at a previous COP, and use his authority to stop fossil gas (methane) being such a big part of our energy mix.  We want to see him take bold steps to model what needs to be done by 1) stopping the flow of methane being transported via pipeline across California borders from other states and 2) closing down the dangerous Aliso Canyon and Playa del Rey/Ballona methane storage facilities so that the renewables we have so heavily invested in will be more fully relied on.”— Marcia Hanscom, Community Organizer, Defend Ballona Wetlands, Los Angeles.