Newsom Abruptly Cancels Trip To UN Climate Change Conference

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled his trip to Scotland this weekend to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, amid unspecified "family obligations," according to multiple reports.

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis will attend in his stead in Glasgow, while Newsom will participate virtually, officials announced Friday. His wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, also pulled out of the conference.

Climate change is one of the key elements of Newsom's governing platform. He's spoken passionately about the need to mitigate rising temperatures in a state that has been plagued with severe drought and devastating fire seasons.

Last year, Newsom signed an executive order to ban the sale and manufacturing of new gas-only cars in 2035. The mandate, aimed at combatting climate change, will require all new vehicles sold in the Golden State to have zero emissions.

Is one of the most aggressive actions taken to tackle climate change seen within the United States. He's also proposed a ban on all oil drilling by 2045 and outlawing the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment by 2024 or whenever state regulators determine that is feasible.

“He loves this issue, he cares about it a lot. It’s a big deal to him, and I’m sure he desperately wanted to go,” Democratic state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, who is attending the conference, said, according to the Associated Press.

"At some point, as much as we want to be out there in politics, you’re a human being," Hertzberg said. "You’ve got to take care of your family."

Newsom has four children ranging from ages 5 to 12.

The trip to Scotland would have been the first-term governor's most significant international trip thus far and would have provided him with a global platform to highlight his environmental agenda.

Newsom handily defeated a recall effort to oust him from office last month, and canceling this weekend's trip is unlikely to hurt him politically.

"The governor has a young family and we should all be understanding, especially those of us who have been there," Kounalakis told the Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.