Former White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy says the U.S. will remain a force at international climate talks, despite President Donald Trump dismissing climate change as a “con.”
In an exclusive interview with the Climate Week NYC Daily Show in partnership with Newsweek and Hi Impact, McCarthy said America’s renewable rollout is “inevitable” and that governors, mayors and community leaders are stepping in to keep momentum alive.
“We’re going to have folks at COP30. We’re going to have the United States have a presence,” she said. “We’re going to make sure our communities are safe, that we have the technologies we need to keep them safe. And we’re going to make sure people across the world understand that we’re not all crazy.”
McCarthy, who led the Environmental Protection Agency from 2013 to 2017 before serving as President Joe Biden’s first National Climate Adviser, played a central role in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—landmark legislation that channeled hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has sought to dismantle renewable projects nationwide. But this week, Danish energy giant Ørsted won a legal battle allowing it to resume work on a nearly completed offshore wind farm off Coney Island, after Trump ordered work to be halted.
“There is no question this administration is trying to deny the Inflation Reduction Act ever happened,” McCarthy said. “But good things continue to happen, and there will be financial investments in the technologies that came out of it.”
She added that the clean energy transition is being driven by demand at the local level, not just by federal action.
“People want this technology in their homes and communities,” she said. “So I’m not worried that this president can take that away. I don’t even think he understands what is going on in communities all across the country.”
Newsweek celebrated New York City’s 2025 Climate Week with events throughout the week. Pillars of the Green Transition took place on September 24 and Powering Ahead: Innovations in Energy and Plastics Technology took place on September 25. Both events were held at Newsweek’s global headquarters at One World Trade Center in New York City.
