Democrats head to Cop31 in Turkey, buoyed by midterm wins and seeking to counter Trump-era climate setbacks

The US will have no official government presence at Cop31 climate talks starting Monday in Antalya, Turkey, marking the second consecutive year of absence under President Donald Trump, who has dismissed the climate crisis as a hoax. Democrats' decisive midterm election wins have boosted international optimism about a post-Trump climate resurgence. About 20 Democratic members of Congress are attending without State Department assistance, relying on philanthropic funding. The US was a "major exception" among 20 major economies last year, emitting an extra 133 million tons of planet-heating gases, while Trump has called climate action a "green scam" and "greatest con job ever perpetrated." Democratic victories in both House and Senate, alongside Brazil's recent election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have raised hopes for renewed US climate leadership. Democrats plan to use investigative powers, budget control, and state-level wins to probe administration actions and reverse environmental funding cuts, though sweeping climate legislation faces Trump's veto power.