Following the major blow to tackling climate change dealt by Donald Trump’s announcement that he will withdraw the US for the second timefrom the Paris Climate Agreement, other countries are underlining their commitment to it, with China leading the way.

As almost all the countries of the world (with the exception of some countries among which Iran, Libya and Yemen) will continue to abide by it, the agreement adopted in 2015 in Paris will survive, diplomats and experts believe, recalling that for the past ten years, countries’ commitments have improved global warming predictions.

This is “an agreement that goes beyond the US,” stressed Frances Colon of the Center for American Progress, a think tank close to the Democrats.

Brazil is one of the countries looking to lead the climate effort: in November it will host the annual UN climate conference, COP30, in the Amazon.

Amazon in the Amazon, where the UN Climate Change Conference will hold its first annual meeting of the UN Climate Change Conference at COP30 in November, in the Amazon.
Its president, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, although he favours the development of oil exploitation, is seen as a major advocate for tackling climate change, and since his inauguration deforestation in the Amazon has been curtailed.

Brazil also chairs the BRICS, the group of developing economies that seeks to reshape the world order and which includes China and India.

“This year may be a year when the global south will showcase its leadership capabilities,” estimated Tim Sahai, co-director of the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University.

India also appears poised to take a leading role in the fight against climate change, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising his country’s position in wind and solar power generation.

China said today it was “concerned” by the new US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.

“Climate change is a common challenge facing all mankind, and no country can remain apathetic or solve the problem alone,” Guo Jiaqun, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stressed.

At the same time, Beijing will strongly support multipolarity in addressing climate change during the Trump presidency, added Li Shuo of the Asia Society Policy Institute, who knows the case.

During Trump’s first term as US president, China remained committed to the Paris Agreement and did not change its long-term goals.

China now produces more than half of the world’s electric vehicles, 70% of its wind, and 80% of its solar panels, which has allowed it to significantly reduce its cost.

China’s performance in using green technologies may “prove to be a lifesaver,” Li Shuo estimated.

At the COPs, Beijing is an indispensable negotiator and has been leading an atypical group of developing countries in talks with richer countries.

But without the US, China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, may try to slow the pace of its transition to green energy.

The EU has a long tradition of leadership in climate negotiations, cutting its emissions by 7.5% from 2022 to 2023, far more than other major rich countries. It is also the biggest funder of the fight against climate change.

During Trump’s first term, the EU and China had launched a climate dialogue with Canada, pending the return of the Americans to the Paris Agreement.

A similar effort will be needed in the coming months, estimated Alex Scott of the Italian climate think tank ECCO.

But the EU is facing budgetary difficulties and some countries are adopting policies hostile to wind power and electric vehicles. At the same time, Beijing is in a trade standoff with Brussels over its carbon tariffs on imports.

Other countries say they want to continue the fight against climate change despite the headwinds.

In Britain, Energy Minister Ed Miliband has said he wants to elevate London “to a new climate leader”. After all, the country reduced in 2024 as never before the amount of coal drawn to produce each kilowatt-hour of electricity.

Barbados and Kenya have taken a leading role in global financial reform to help the poorest countries.

Another example: is Colombia, which has pledged to stop mining fossil fuels–a key source of export revenue and signed a global agreement to phase out oil, coal, and natural gas.