“Whether you speak to people from the Middle East, from sub-Saharan Africa, from Europe … all these fingers are pointed at President Trump and what he did in Iran. More so ironically — perversely — than Putin in Ukraine. President Trump has got Putin off the hook.”
The rhetoric on display in Turkey has not gone unnoticed in Washington, which has not sent a delegation to COP31. The U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change treaty that underpins COP talks will be completed early next year.
“President Trump is ensuring Iran can never have or use a nuclear weapon—a threat that would have a catastrophic impact on the entire world,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. “The conflict in Iran has underscored the importance of having access to reliable, affordable, and secure energy sources.
“Nations around the world are now turning to the United States as both an example and a partner in pursuing common-sense energy dominance policies,” she argued.
Nonetheless, Khan’s criticisms of Trump — and a cautious optimism about post-2028 American climate policy — are echoed by other diplomats and campaigners in Turkey.
The U.S. midterms and even more importantly for most diplomats the reelection in Brazil of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offer a “more positive vibe at COP31,” said founder of the E3G climate think tank Nick Mabey, “as countries see a move away from populism and the possibility of positive U.S. engagement on climate.”
“After Lula’s win and what we learned from the U.S. midterms,” agreed one European diplomat, “there’s a bit of a sense of tails up here now.”