Whitehouse Faces Climate Criticism Over Permitting Bill at COP31

Whitehouse, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s ranking member, has posted videos from the summit saying climate action will fail while fossil-fuel companies can pollute without cost. He is attending with the Massachusetts-based Woodwell Climate Research Center; the United States has no formal delegation at the United Nations conference in Türkiye.

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), backed by President Donald Trump, would accelerate permitting for energy infrastructure, including renewable projects and transmission lines as well as oil and gas pipelines. Critics say it could weaken environmental safeguards and benefit Big Oil and Big Tech. Collin Rees, U.S. campaign manager for Oil Change International, said Whitehouse’s role as a lead sponsor was disappointing and argued the bill could enable hundreds of proposed gas power plants and pipelines. Rees also cited proponents’ modeling, which he said showed the bill’s transmission provisions would bring no discernible climate benefit while leaving U.S. emissions more than 2.1 billion tons short of even a modest climate goal in 2040.

Whitehouse has described the legislation as “a BIG step to fight climate change.” Reuters reported that he told reporters he would return by Monday for the next permitting reform vote. The Senate advanced the bill 75-23, improving its prospects in the House, the news agency reported. Whitehouse said members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus assured senators the House would vote on it and were optimistic about passage.

Other U.S. political figures are also taking part in COP31. The New York Times reported that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were headed to the summit, while former Vice President Al Gore was scheduled to speak at related events. America Is All In, Climate Mayors and the U.S. Climate Alliance have organized a delegation of more than 100, according to ABC News. The groups’ chair, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy, said their participation would demonstrate U.S. climate leadership at the state and local levels.