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At her fourth Conference of Parties in as many years, Jacquelyn Francis said it seems that the global climate community is happy to move forward without leadership from the United States.
“I completely think ‘drill, baby, drill’ is a very stupid economic move,” Francis said. “I think it's unsustainable and it's not where the future is going to go.”
Francis, an Aspen resident and Aspen Daily News columnist, is the founder and executive director of the Global Warming Mitigation Project, a nonprofit that awards funding to global and local organizations whose work contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases. They awarded $500,000 to 10 organizations this year through the Keeling Curve Prize.
Francis spent the past week in Baku, Azerbaijan among other leaders in the climate space for Conference of Parties 29, or COP29. The annual United Nations Climate Change Conference brings together 198 parties from around the world to discuss advancing the Paris Agreement and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The conference began on Nov. 11, days after the U.S. general election saw Donald Trump win the presidency.
One of Trump’s campaign slogans was “drill, baby, drill” and his cabinet nominations include fossil fuel supporters — including Chris Wright for the Secretary of Energy, per the Associated Press — painting an ominous picture for American investment in climate-friendly innovation. Wright is the CEO of Denver-based oilfield services company Liberty Energy.
Multiple outlets report that Trump is expected to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, and they may be joined by Argentina. Francis said that feels like an afterthought among COP29 attendees.
“The negotiations are going slowly, but it feels to me like they're kind of ignoring the U.S. political (situation) now that Trump's going to pull out of the Paris Accord and not be involved for the next few years in this process,” she said.
The parties, which include 197 countries plus the European Union, negotiate policy and public governance backstop for funding climate initiatives, Francis said.
With waning confidence in the U.S., Francis said it’s clear that China is stepping in as the leader in renewable energy and related manufacturing.
“The global majority needs this to go forward. They're living in island nations suffering huge consequences. They're living in energy poverty and they need systems that are going to work for them, and China wants that to happen,” she said “It's pretty interesting how the U.S. is putting themselves in a position that's going to be on the wrong side of history.”
Still, Francis said she’s talked with some U.S. delegates who remain committed to the work despite the uncertain future, particularly in the corporate space. The economic future for energy is with climate science and innovation, she said.
“It's the policy makers, it's the advocates and the activists and the corporations, to some extent,” she said. “It's really pretty astonishing to see how the world wants to go this way.”
While a decarbonized future is not a common feature on Republican Party platforms, Francis said she’s seen some Republican representatives for climate initiatives at COP29 and would welcome the partnership if it arose.
“I don't think the economic momentum in climate solutions and climate technology — and even supporting nonprofits — is going to change or go away,” she said. “But I definitely don't think I'll be reaching out as much to the United States federal government for any kind of leadership.”
As a decades-long resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, Francis said valley locals have the power to affect the kind of change that they’d like to see on a global scale in their immediate neighborhoods.
“We also have the kind of people who believe in this and can put their money, their efforts and their hearts in the right place,” she said.