Newsom, Xi AWOL at Scotland Climate Conference

Attendees listen during the opening ceremony of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 1, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali

Commentary

At the last minute, Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled his much-anticipated trip to COP26—the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. The world’s fifth-largest economy, California, went unrepresented by its leader. So too the first- or second-largest economy, depending on how it’s figured, as Chinese President Xi Jinping also stayed home.