US climate efforts will continue after Trump win, says Podesta

The United States will continue to fight climate change despite the re-election of Donald Trump, the country's climate envoy John Podesta insisted Monday at the UN's COP29 talks.

Trump's return has thrown a shadow over the talks in Baku given the incoming president's pledge to withdraw Washington from the landmark Paris agreement and his regular questioning of climate change.

Podesta acknowledged that the next administration "will try and take a U-turn", but he said US cities, states and individual citizens would pick up the slack.

"While the United States federal government under Donald Trump may put climate change action on the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States with commitment and passion and belief," he added.

"This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet... The fight is bigger than one election, one political cycle in one country."