At COP31 in Turkey, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry argued that Trump was giving up opportunities for U.S. companies to compete with China and supply clean-energy markets.
Kerry faulted the administration for withdrawing the United States from international climate cooperation and removing measures intended to reduce emissions, The Guardian reported. He called Trump “the biggest loser we’ve seen in a long time” on “all of these issues.”
Kerry argued that U.S. companies could miss opportunities to make clean-energy goods and serve the sector as China leads in clean technology, according to The Guardian. EconoTimes has also covered calls for climate action at COP31.
Kerry also said climate concerns remained politically relevant after the U.S. midterm elections. He argued that worries about global heating overlapped with voter concerns about rising energy costs, which he counted among factors benefiting Democrats, The Guardian reported.
An unnamed White House official told The Guardian that the administration would send no representative to COP31. The official said the summit “rejects reality” and alleged that climate policies it called “extremist” were “destroying countries around the world.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) lists Nov. 20 as the final day of COP31.
