California Governor to Attend UN Climate Summit Amid Controversy

California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to speak at the annual United Nations Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil, which is situated along the Amazon River.

However, there’s a stir brewing with California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton—who used to host a show on Fox News. He’s been quite vocal against Newsom and has even threatened to organize a rival summit if he gets the chance to speak.

This week, Hilton sent a letter to the chairs of the COP30 summit, urging them to block Newsom’s participation, asserting that doing so would safeguard the conference’s credibility. He highlighted the governor’s “hypocrisy on climate change,” pointing out that under Newsom’s administration, California imports a significant amount of oil from the Amazon region.

“Governor Newsom has crafted a political persona centered around climate virtue signaling while overseeing serious environmental contradictions,” Hilton noted. “This oil is sourced from one of the most fragile ecosystems, which leads to deforestation and harms indigenous communities. Rather than confront this issue, Governor Newsom chooses to present himself as a leader in climate change, jet-setting to conferences and posing for the camera while his policies contribute to rainforest destruction.”

Hilton also mentioned that earlier this year, the state’s Democratic senators collectively called for an investigation into California’s financial involvement in Amazon oil drilling. Environmental advocates argue that this activity significantly accelerates deforestation and threatens biodiversity in the rainforest, which tarnishes California’s image as a climate leader.

In his correspondence to COP30 organizers, Hilton characterized Newsom’s upcoming talk as “political theater under the guise of leadership.”

“It would be an affront to the conference and its attendees to have Gavin Newsom discuss climate justice while his administration facilitates the ruin of the Amazon,” Hilton stated. “The UNFCCC and COP 30 should not endorse hypocrisy.”

On Tuesday, Newsom spoke at a related event, criticizing former President Donald Trump’s environmental policies, branding Trump as an “invasive species” and a “wrecking ball” in the fight against climate change. Governor Newsom’s attendance at the summit will last approximately two weeks, during which he plans to visit various local communities in the Amazon.

In response to Hilton’s call to bar Newsom from the conference, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office offered a rather succinct reply.

“Sorry, who is Steve Hilton?” queried Izzy Gurdon, Newsom’s spokeswoman.