11 November 2025

COP30: World leaders take aim at Trump for climate inaction

Esme Stallard, and Matt McGrath

Brazilian President Lula warned of "extremist forces" when he addressed world leaders at the global climate summit

US President Donald Trump has been criticised by world leaders for his stance on climate change, ahead of the global COP30 summit.

President Trump, who is not attending the meeting in the Amazonian city of Belém, was called a liar by the leaders of Colombia and Chile for his rejection of climate science.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged the waning political support on climate change. He said it had been a unity issue internationally and in the UK but "today sadly that consensus is gone".

Over the next two weeks countries will try and negotiate a new deal on climate change, with a particular focus on channelling more money to forest protection.

Many leaders from the world's largest nations – India, Russia, US and China - are notably absent from this year's summit.

And while Trump isn't attending this meeting in Belém, his views on climate change are certainly on the minds of many of the other leaders present.

Speaking at the UN in September, the US president said that climate change was "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world".

He said: "The entire globalist concept, asking successful industrialised nations to inflict pain on themselves and radically disrupt their entire societies, must be rejected completely and totally."

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