An Empty Chair and a Fractured Front: U.S. Absence Looms Over UN Climate Talks in Belem

BELEM, Brazil – The litany of climate-driven disasters recited at the opening of the UN climate negotiations on Monday was as devastating as it was familiar: Hurricane Melissa ravaging Jamaica, a deadly tornado scarring southern Brazil, and relentless droughts and wildfires scorching vast regions of Africa. Yet, against this backdrop of global crisis, one of the most powerful symbols in the conference hall was not a dramatic image of destruction, but an empty chair.

Placed prominently by a coalition of activists, the vacant seat was a stark, silent rebuke to the absent United States—the world’s richest nation and its second-largest carbon polluter. As world leaders gathered here to forge a collective path forward, the void highlighted a fracture in global unity that many fear could undermine the entire endeavor.

“The empty chair is a protest against the U.S. abdication of its responsibility, but it’s also a challenge to other nations,” said Danni Taaffe of Climate Action Network International in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s a call for them to step in and step up to fill the leadership vacuum.”

The talks, known as COP30, have drawn 195 nations to Belem, a weathered city on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon chosen as a powerful reminder of the planet’s fragile ecosystems. The central message from the podium was one of collective, urgent action. United Nations climate secretary Simon Stiell acknowledged the challenges but pointed to powerful allies. “Humanity is still in this fight. We have some tough opponents, no doubt, but we also have some heavyweights on our side. One is the brute power of the market forces as renewables get cheaper,” Stiell asserted.

A Mandate for Implementation, Amid Deepening Inequality

This year’s conference is not expected to yield a new, landmark treaty. Instead, organizers have framed it as the “implementation COP,” with a clear mandate for countries to arrive with robust, updated national climate plans. On Monday, the UN released an analysis showing that the latest pledges, if fulfilled, would reduce projected 2035 global greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent below 2019 levels—a modest improvement from previous estimates.

Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, used his opening address to frame the climate crisis as a fundamental issue of justice. “The climate emergency is an increase of inequality,” Lula declared. “It deepens the perverse logic that defines who is worthy of living and who should die… Climate change is not a threat of the future. It is already a tragedy of the present time.”

André Corrêa do Lago, president of this year’s conference, echoed the need for unity, invoking the local Indigenous concept of “mutirão”—a community coming together to complete a task for the common good.

The American Vacuum: A Second Withdrawal and a Damaged Fight

This call for a unified mutirão is profoundly complicated by the absence of the United States. The nation is one of only four not in attendance, alongside tiny San Marino and strife-torn Afghanistan and Myanmar. The absence stems directly from the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long denied the existence of human-caused climate change.

The UN’s cautiously optimistic calculations are contingent on a pledge submitted by the previous Biden administration in December. That commitment is now effectively moot. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has moved to aggressively boost fossil fuel production and hamper the clean energy transition. His administration chose not to send high-level negotiators to Belem and, in one of his first acts of his second term, formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement for the second time.

The impact of this move rippled through the conference. “The U.S. withdrawal has really shifted the gravity of the negotiating system,” said Palau Ambassador Ilana Seid, who chairs the Alliance of Small Island States, nations that face existential threats from rising seas.

The damage is both practical and symbolic. The United States has contributed more heat-trapping carbon dioxide to the atmosphere over history than any other nation. Its retreat from the field damages the credibility of the entire Paris framework and emboldens other reluctant countries.

“It’s a good thing that they are not sending anyone. It wasn’t going to be constructive if they did,” said former U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Todd Stern, reflecting the view that a disruptive U.S. presence would be worse than none at all.

A Glimmer of Hope Beyond the Empty Chair

Despite the grim symbolism, some attendees pointed to sources of resilience within the American system. A delegation of U.S. governors, mayors, and business leaders is present in Belem, arguing that subnational actors will continue to drive climate action regardless of the federal government’s stance.

“The world cannot wait for Washington,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is leading a delegation of state officials. “We are here to make it clear that a majority of Americans are still in this fight and are committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

This subnational movement, however, cannot fully replicate the diplomatic and financial power of the federal government. As the talks proceed, the empty chair will serve as a constant reminder of what is missing: the leadership and resources of a global superpower at a time when scientists warn the window to avert the worst catastrophes is closing rapidly. The world has gathered in Belem to build a collective front, but one of its most crucial pillars is notably absent.