Group of Republicans argues that participation in the climate conference would legitimize policies contrary to Trump’s agenda
Republican Party attorneys general from 17 US states requested on Friday (Oct 24, 2025) that President Donald Trump’s administration not send representatives to the COP30 conference – scheduled to be held in Belém (PA) from November 10.
The group, led by John McCuskey, attorney general of West Virginia, claims that American participation in the event would legitimize “contrary policies” to Trump’s agenda.
According to information from , the prosecutors sent the request on Thursday (Oct 23) to the secretaries of the Interior, Doug Burgum, and of Energy, Chris Wright, as well as the administrator of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), Lee Zeldin.
According to them, attending the event sponsored by the UN (United Nations) would be contradictory to the “guidelines of the current North American administration”. The Trump administration has already begun the process to withdraw the country from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
In the letter, the group opposes what it calls “anti-coal, anti-gas and anti-oil policies that COP promotes”. It also says that renewable energy policies are based on climate theories “contested”.
In addition to West Virginia, the document has signatures from attorneys from Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota. Many of the states are fossil fuel producers.
McCuskey also criticized renewable energy sources, saying that clean energy, such as solar and wind, is more expensive than traditional sources. However, the statement contrasts with data from BloombergNEF released in February, which indicate that new solar and wind farms already have lower production costs than coal and gas thermoelectric plants in most parts of the world.
The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office has a history of opposing environmental policies. In 2024, it filed a lawsuit against the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for requiring public companies to disclose climate-related risks.
The state also sued New York over its climate liability legislation and was lead plaintiff in the case “West Virginia v. EPA [Agência de Proteção Ambiental]“in which the Supreme Court limited the powers of the environmental agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from thermoelectric plants.
