Fresh from their US midterm election triumph, an emboldened group of Democratic lawmakers descended on the COP31 climate talks shunned by President Donald Trump on Saturday to signal their commitment to tackling global warming.\n<\/p>\n
The 18-strong delegation\u00a0joined the annual UN conference in Turkey after their party regained control of both chambers of Congress in a landslide victory last week cheered by climate campaigners.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of our allies and partners across the world think the United States has not been predictable or dependable. So we have a lot of trust to earn back,\u201d Florida Representative Kathy Castor told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have so much work to do. And yes, I hope the United States gets back on track with urgent climate action,\u201d she said after the group took photos in front of a large COP31 sign in a sprawling expo centre.<\/p>\n
The election has been a topic of discussion at COP31 in Antalya, with hopes that Democrats can restore some clean energy policies and that a pro-climate president can be elected in two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in the US is remarkable, and a much needed shift that we all needed, not only from a climate perspective, but overall,\u201d Harjeet Singh, strategic advisor to the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has rolled back some of the clean energy policies of his predecessors, promoted oil drilling, pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement and kept his country out of the UN\u2019s climate negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is absolutely shameful that the Trump administration operates this way, that this is an administration that is filled with climate deniers, that is beholden to big oil in the United States,\u201d Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona lawmaker, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2018Climate action alive in America\u2019 \u2013 <\/p>\n
Ansari and other members of the delegation spoke at a panel focused on the midterm elections, attracting a crowd that overflowed outside the \u201cAmerica Is All In\u201d pavilion.\n<\/p>\n
The group reminded COP31 delegates that, while Trump has rejected clean energy, US states and local governments have continued to promote renewables and other pro-climate policies.\n<\/p>\n
A group of US mayors and governors visited COP31 earlier this week, along with former US vice president Al Gore and former US climate envoy and secretary of state John Kerry.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the setbacks that we\u2019re experiencing through this Trump administration, climate action is alive in America,\u201d California Congressman Raul Ruiz told the panel.\n<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s Republican Party was handed a resounding defeat last week in large part due to anger over soaring energy prices and Trump\u2019s costly war with Iran.<\/p>\n
Democrats have vowed to use their majority in the House and the Senate to launch investigations into the administration\u2019s climate policies and propose clean energy legislation.\n<\/p>\n
But Trump still has two years left in office and has vowed to wield his veto power.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time where Americans from all political backgrounds want to see their energy bills reduced, this administration will be very hard pressed to veto legislation that will bring down costs for the American people,\u201d Ansari said.\n<\/p>\n
AFP\n <\/p>\n
Source: <\/p>\n
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