November 1, 2025
COP or COP-out?
US will not send officials to COP30 climate talks
America skips climate summit; internet calls it a COP-out and a climate reality check
TLDR: The U.S. won’t send top officials to COP30, igniting a comments war over whether UN climate talks are useless theater or a needed lifeline. Reactions split between doom-laden warnings, cynical takes on trade and sanctions, and snarky “COP-out” jokes—making this a climate fight you can’t ignore.
The U.S. says it won’t send top officials to COP30 in Brazil—and the comments blew up. Some users cheered the snub, calling UN climate talks “COP-out theater”, while others went full doomsday mode, pointing to rising carbon numbers and warning we’re steering into a “hothouse Earth”. One camp says these global deals are rigged: “asymmetric, easily cheated, and weaponized for market advantage.” The other camp argues even flawed cooperation is better than no cooperation, and skipping Belem looks like washing hands while the house burns.
Fuel on the fire: Trump’s recent line that climate change is the world’s “greatest con job,” plus U.S. threats of sanctions over a shipping emissions plan, had users accusing Washington of playing hardball to protect liquefied natural gas exports. The Bill Gates memo saying humanity isn’t doomed became meme fodder (“Gates says chill, Earth says grill”), while veterans of past summits joked COP’s track record is so weak they won’t miss the photo ops. One commenter roasted the whole endeavor with “COP28 in the UAE—aka the gas station nation.”
Drama score: high. Between doomers, deal skeptics, and sarcasm connoisseurs, the vibe is: America’s out, COP’s flailing, and the internet’s split between laughing, panicking, and posting hot takes. Read the room—and the links.
Key Points
- •The U.S. will not send high-level officials to COP30 in Belem, Brazil, per a White House official.
- •U.S. threats of visa restrictions and sanctions influenced the IMO to delay a decision on global shipping carbon pricing by one year.
- •President Donald Trump publicly denounced multilateral climate action at the UN General Assembly and emphasized bilateral energy partnerships.
- •The administration is promoting U.S. LNG exports via trade deals with partners including South Korea and the European Union, and sees potential trade with China.
- •The U.S. is reviewing engagement in multilateral environmental agreements, has announced exit from the Paris accord effective January 2026, and pressed against plastic production caps in treaty talks.