How to Fill Climate Void Left by the White House: Mark Gongloff

Regardless of your party affiliation, it was hard to feel too jazzed about California Governor Gavin Newsom representing the US at the COP30 climate talks in Belem, Brazil. Democrats will grouse that we were once a proper country that sent actual presidents to these things. Republicans will see Newsom’s trip as just so much grandstanding for a 2028 White House run.

But with the current US government’s stance on climate change best summed up as “Make it worse, faster,” somebody’s got to fill the leadership void. Fortunately, America’s governors have a lot of power to not only represent the vast majority of ...