Trumps climate retreat shines light on green leaders [Video]

The United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is a blow to global cooperation on climate change, but other countries are marching ahead and stepping up leadership on the issue.

China is dominating the clean energy race, Brazil will be steering global climate negotiations, Denmark has approved a world-first tax on livestock emissions and Colombia is saying farewell to fossil fuels.

Some observers see the US retreat as a chance for more ambitious countries to forge new alliances, set the agenda and champion a climate deal endorsed by nearly all nations.

“It’s a bigger pact than just the United States,” said Frances Colon, a senior fellow from the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based policy institute.

– Emerging players –

One of these emerging leaders is Brazil, which this year is hosting one of the most important UN climate summits since the Paris accord was adopted in 2015.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva …