I went to COP30—and saw how the rest of the world is pushing climate action even as the U.S. steps back

I arrived in Belém, Brazil, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30, hoping to see global unity against climate collapse. Brazil’s president had framed this conference, situated in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, as the “COP of Implementation” and, at times, the “COP of Truth.”

Two weeks later, I returned home after seeing international climate governance shift . The era of U.S. leadership on climate—even in a half-hearted form—is over, with Washington not even sending a delegation to COP30. Instead, climate work is getting picked up by everyone else.

This year’s COP30 moved away from having a big negotiated agreement as its outcome. Instead, delegates focused on implementation and the six-pillar Action Agenda: energy, industry, and transports; forests, ocean and biodi