The United States of America was unofficially represented at COP30, the annual UN local weather convention (November 10-21) in Belem, Brazil by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). He was not granted the privilege of formally representing the U.S. The State Department refused to facilitate his journey, refused to acknowledge the senator as a consultant of a congressional delegation, refusing to acknowledge COP30, refusing to acknowledge world warming. This is the primary time in Senator Whitehouses profession that the chief department of presidency has dictated a congressional members CODEL (Congressional Delegation paid journey for members).
The EUs Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
In conferences with nation representatives exterior of COP30 official proceedings, Senator Whitehouse realized whats occurring to hopefully restrict world warming, concluding that one strategy to local weather security is by imposing a payment on polluters. According to research by Potsdam Institute, a worth on carbon is among the methods not but applied to sort out world warming.
The senator met with the Europeans, the Brits, and the Australians. The EU is instituting a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which is a world worth on carbon that comes through tariffs. It is already legislation and set to enter impact in 2026. The conservative UK authorities can be within the strategy of determining how theyll deal with a carbon tariff. Australia can be trying into it.
Whitehouse: This is sending a world worth sign that in case your items are extra carbon intensive than ours, we’re going to cost you for that. You can not pollute and export free of charge any longer. However, a payment on carbon air pollution is not any assure of local weather security; however, not instituting a carbon payment is a pathway for local weather failure, doubtless taking down civilization at some sudden juncture. Its gotten that critical.
In that regard, the worth of oil and fuel subsidies within the U.S. are $700 billion per yr. Thats the worth of polluting free of charge that the fossil gas business receives. Its no shock they have been prepared to grease the president with a number of hundred million {dollars} to do no matter they need to do.
American Opinion Polls on Carbon Pollution
According to the senator, Trump doesn’t signify American pursuits. He solely represents fossil gas pursuits, not the American public. Proof is present in current polls, as expressed in Senator Whitehouses speech, stating {that a} proposal to restrict carbon air pollution by massive companies is supported by 72% of Americans. Whereas Trumps Mar-a-Lago dedication to fossil gas pursuits has been sealed with a number of hundred million {dollars} of grease following his open provide to do no matter they need for a one-billion-dollar quid professional quo. This is solely yet another bizarre oddball, difficult-to-rationalize stance in opposition to Americas greatest pursuits. Nearly 2/3rds of the American public need limits to carbon air pollution.
According to the senators speech, when requested if a payment must be imposed for polluting, Americans polled mentioned Yes by a convincing 74%. Once once more, Trump will surely oppose such a payment since he has already bought his soul to the polluters. American residents diametrically oppose Trump on carbon air pollution. Two-thirds of Americans favor a payment on carbon polluters. Significantly, the EU is instituting such a payment; the UK is contemplating it; Australia is contemplating it. This might develop into a world motion now that every one previous approaches over the previous 30 years by nations of the world, demonstrating concern about local weather change at annual COPs, have so little to indicate for 30 years of conferences.
An up to date ballot Climate Change within the American Mind d/d June 17, 2025 performed by Yale Climate Change Communications and George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications d/d May 1-25, 2025,may be accessed.
COP30 Results- Global Warming Wins Once Again
According to Reuters d/d November 22, 2025: World secures compromise deal at COP30 that sidesteps fossil fuels. This is yet another COP failure to correctly tackle the important thing motive behind beginning UN local weather conferences 30 years in the past. The first UN local weather convention, COP1, held in Berlin in 1995 began a strategy of negotiations to create legally binding emission discount targets for the developed nations of the world. That preliminary assertion of goal stays fluttering in midair directionless, heartless, meaningless, out of attain with every annual assembly. Next yr Antalya, Turkey will host the staging enviornment for COP31s chatter, wine, caviar, practically assured disappointing outcomes, and photograph ops for state leaders.
The Ultimate Impact of Failure to Challenge Climate Change
Senator Whitehouses Senate speech(Nov. 21) discusses the end result of failure to deal with local weather change. Accordingly, massive hassle is on the docket by avoiding the local weather change concern. This risk of upcoming hassle is voiced by main figureheads in finance. Senator Whitehouse refers to it because the Great Climate Insurance Collapse, warned by finance authorities, claiming local weather change alone may scale back world GDP by 10-20%.
In 10 or 15 years, there are going to be areas of the nation the place you cant get a mortgage (Federal Reserve Board Chair Powell) as a result of folks will be unable to get house insurance coverage. This, in flip, eliminates house mortgages. Whole areas of the U.S. are going to develop into so local weather dangerous that theyre uninsurable. (Whitehouse)
According to the senator, Florida is on a quick observe: In Florida, the insurance coverage market is already trembling, propped up, even perhaps pretend. The doubtless situation is a cascade: It goes from local weather danger to un-insurability to mortgage failure to property worth collapse to recession. Still, a typical Florida household house is $407,830 in 2025 versus $410,000 in 2023, not an excessive amount of of a lower in worth in two years however nonetheless a lower as sources say typical Florida consumers expertise local weather change denialism to an excessive regardless of a number of apparent dangers. Meanwhile, Florida is the most costly state for house insurance coverage within the nation and sure going greater, pricing many consumers out of the market.
Extreme Climate Change Shows Up within the Damnedest Places, Clobbering a Town in Nebraska
In Cozad, Neb., a hailstorm final yr induced an estimated $100 million in harm, in keeping with native insurance coverage agent Brian Messersmith, in a city of simply 4,000 folks. After the storm, many householders and enterprise homeowners on the town say they have been dropped by their insurers and compelled to scramble to seek out new, typically costlier, insurance policies. Others noticed the value of their present insurance policies go up considerably. The common value of house owners insurance coverage in Nebraska this yr is almost $6,400, in accordance toBankrate. That’s the best within the nation, and virtually $4,000 above the nationwide common. (Its Harder to Get Home Insurance. Thats Changing Communities Across the U.S., NPR, November 12, 2025)
A cascading local weather change scenario is what the chief economist of Freddie Mac instructed a Senate committee may occur. Freddie Mac is just not a inexperienced group. Freddie Mac is a mortgage firm warning the nation of local weather change negatively impacting the true property market.
The finance neighborhood is warning of massive financial hassle due to local weather change. These will not be inexperienced NGOs. The Economist journal featured an article entitled The Next Housing Disaster, predicting a $25 trillion hit to world actual property due to local weather adjustments house insurance coverage meltdown.
The president of Aon Insurance, one of many greatest within the nation, testified earlier than the Senate funds committee, saying local weather danger is a systemic danger, which implies the difficulty is just not confined to the place it originates, it spreads. For instance, the 2008 recession was systemic with the mortgage meltdown hurting everyone all through the financial system. But now we’re confronted with world systemic dangers that may very well be globally cataclysmic after years of ignoring local weather change.
Two Million Canceled Home Insurance Policies
The climate-engineered house insurance coverage disaster is already occurring and threatens to get a lot worse because the Trump administration formally ignores local weather change, labeling it a hoax: In one five-year interval, 2018-2023, insurers canceled practically 2 million householders insurance policies within the face of rising local weather dangers. (How Climate Risks Are Putting Home Insurance Out of Reach, YaleEnvironment360, September 15, 2025) Why would main insurance coverage corporations cancel 2,000,000 house insurance coverage insurance policies if local weather change is a hoax?
Gunther Thallingerof Allianz SE, the worlds largest insurance coverage firm warned in regards to the prospect of hitting 3C, which Senator Whitehouse believes is coming: The monetary system as we all know it ceases to exist and capitalism ceases to be viable.
The Mortgage Bankers Association says the fiscal danger related to local weather change might exceed the capability of insurance coverage and governmental help in some areas of the nation.
Climate Deniers Threaten Entire Financial System
If main finance executives, together with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and main finance entities like Aon Insurance and Allianz SE consider local weather change is a systemic danger to the monetary system, what extra is required to reverse the administrations anti-science, anti-climate change marketing campaign that can hurt each American and take down the whole monetary system. There aren’t any winners below this situation, solely losers, together with local weather deniers.
This article was initially printed on Nov. 26, 2025Counterpunch
Robert Hunziker
