Conservative groups write to Trump officials: Boycott UN Climate Change Conference

2025-09-27 14:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Conservative groups write to Trump officials: Boycott UN Climate Change

A coalition of conservative energy and environmental groups has written a letter urging leaders within the Trump administration to ignore the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Brazil.

They argue that US participation in the UN Climate Change Conference wastes taxpayer money and compromises national security, while President Donald Trump has previously said that climate change is the biggest hoax of all time.

The UN Climate Change Conference is an annual event that brings together leaders from around the world to draft and negotiate measures to limit climate change. The conference will be held in Brazil in 2025, from November 10 to November 21.

The letter drafted by conservative groups was addressed to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Signatories to the letter included the Energy and Environmental Law Institute, the American Energy Institute, the Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), Truth in Energy and Climate, the CO2 Coalition, and the American Land Council.

"It's time for America to walk away from the endless UN climate conferences, which have never improved the environment, but have impoverished billions of people while enriching China. By refusing to send a delegation to COP-30, the administration can send a clear message: America will no longer be a victim of the global climate fraud," Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told Fox News Digital.

The letter to the trio of Trump administration leaders described how the US has participated in the conference since it first opened in 1995, but that the meetings and negotiations have achieved nothing for the environment.

"They have only squandered taxpayer dollars and squandered federal resources while: (1) harming the U.S. by motivating trillion-dollar Green New Deal policies and spending; (2) needlessly destroying the U.S. coal industry; (3) driving up energy prices and causing inflation; (4) compromising the U.S. electrical grid; and (5) making our energy system dependent on Communist China's technology. UN climate action and treaties (such as Kyoto in 1997 and Paris in 2015) led to Europe's dependence on Russia for energy and financed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022," the letter continued.

Heartland Institute President James Taylor said the upcoming climate conference would only illustrate the hypocrisy of the self-proclaimed ruling class as they "saturate the atmosphere with CO2" with their travel.

"The annual UN climate talks exist solely to saturate the atmosphere with CO2 from people gathering from all over the world, to give travel privileges to government bureaucrats and NGOs, and to illustrate the hypocrisy of the self-proclaimed ruling class. By not sending an official US delegation, President Trump would do more to reduce carbon dioxide emissions than all the participating countries combined," Taylor said.

Trump has opposed strict climate policies enacted by previous Democratic administrations since retaking the Oval Office in January, including signing executive orders targeting “Green New Deal” initiatives, such as January’s “Liberating American Energy” executive order, which blocked the distribution of climate-related federal funds through the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

The letter comes as the UN General Assembly began in New York City on Monday. Trump addressed the body and denounced climate change as a hoax of massive proportions.

"In my opinion, it is the greatest deception ever perpetrated on the world. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by foolish people who have dedicated their wealth to their country and have given those same countries no chance of success," Trump said on Monday.

The signatories of the letter to Trump officials argued that ignoring the conference by the US would send the message that the US will no longer be a victim of the global climate fraud. The message it sends to the American people is that the Trump administration is putting America first.

"The White House should organize a counter-conference to emphasize economic prosperity and energy sustainability for developing countries, offering the opportunity to pursue real solutions instead of the destructive green policies being pushed at the COP," they wrote.

Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy and Environmental Law Institute, told Fox Digital that Trump's comments this week show that the US does not need to send any officials to Brazil for the conference.

"President Trump this week called climate a hoax and a scam. He said countries that embrace the green agenda will destroy themselves. He criticized the UN as ineffective. So there is no need for anyone in the Trump administration to attend the upcoming UN climate conference in Brazil. Instead, President Trump should consider hosting an event at the White House on energy and economic development for poor countries. Let's move these people forward with proven ideas and opportunities instead of paralyzing them with green nonsense," Milloy said./ CNA