Biden vows to double aid for vulnerable nations dealing with climate change
clock President Biden announced plans Tuesday to double the funding the United States provides each year to help developing nations cope with the ravages of climate change and build greener economies. Speaking at the United Nations, Biden framed the move as part of a broader return to multilateralism, saying the world must work together to combat daunting challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic, trade disputes and a rapidly warming planet. Biden said he intends to work with Congress to boost the U.S. annual contribution to the problem to $11.4 billion, an amount he said is necessary to support the countries and people that will be hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help them adapt. This will make the United States a leader in public climate finance, he said. The new pledge aims to ease the distrust and anger among many small, developing nations who have done little to cause global warming but often have been hardest hit by its impacts. That rift has eroded the sense of unity that will be necessary at high-profile U.N. climate talks in Scotland in the fall, known as COP26, where world leaders face pressure to embrace a detailed global strategy to slow the Earths warming. As leaders gather for G-7, a key question: Will rich countries help poor ones grapple with climate change? Climate finance to help the worlds vulnerable people is the elephant in the room heading towards the COP26 climate summit, Mohamed Adow, director of the African climate and energy think tank Power Shift Africa, said in a statement Tuesday. Its good to see President Biden is upping the amount that the U.S. is contributing, and others should certainly follow suit. However, the U.S. is still woefully short of what it owes. Developed countries pledged more than a decade ago to begin providing $100 billion annually by 2020 to help the most defenseless nations deal with the deepening consequences of sea-level rise, heat waves, intensifying hurricanes and other effects of warming and to hasten the transition away from fossil fuels as those economies grow. But that money has never fully materialized. According to an updated analysis this month from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, developed nations mobilized $79.6 billion in 2019 to help poorer countries grapple with climate change a 2 percent increase from the previous year, but still $20 billion short of what was promised. Less than three-quarters of that money funds greenhouse gas reductions, rather than addressing climate impacts, according to the United Nations. Failure to fulfill this pledge would be a major source of the erosion of trust between developed and developing countries, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres told reporters Monday after a closed-door meeting on climate issues with dozens of world leaders. Developed nations need to bridge this gap. Even as Biden has promised aggressive action to cut the nations emissions at least in half by the end of the decade, the United States has faced criticism for not paying its fair share to help more vulnerable countries battered by climate change. As the largest-ever U.S. climate bill inches forward, a lobbying frenzy ensues In April, the Biden administration promised to double existing annual climate financing to developing countries by 2024, to $5.7 billion a figure many critics said was too paltry given Americas role as the worlds largest historical carbon emitter. On Tuesday, Biden sought to double that number again, with a particular focus on funding to help nations adapt to calamities that already are unfolding. In a statement Tuesday, Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, called the proposal a welcome and much-needed sign that the United States is finally taking its global climate responsibilities seriously. But she warned that the nations credibility on the world stage also depends on delivering on its promises to cut emissions at home a goal that relies in part on significant funding under consideration in Congress. Whether the latest climate finance figure represents a fair share for the United States, given its wealth and its role as the worlds largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, is open to interpretation. Earlier this year, an analysis by the independent international think tank Overseas Development Institute found the United States ideally should be contributing $31.9 billion to $49.4 billion a year toward climate help for developing nations. This week, a collection of advocacy groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club, called on the administration to commit at least $12 billion per year by 2024. While some climate activists praised Bidens latest promise Tuesday, many also made clear they expect even bolder and broader commitments from the United States and other nations ahead of the key U.N. climate summit in November in Glasgow. In order to truly lead, the United States must genuinely do its fair share of climate action, Brandon Wu, director of policy and campaigns for ActionAid USA, said in a statement Tuesday. That means drastic domestic emissions reductions, and massively scaled up climate finance to enable reductions and support front line communities in poorer countries. What the administration has pledged to date fails to meet the scale of the challenge. Sign up for the latest news about climate change, energy and the environment, delivered every Thursday Understanding our climate: Global warming is a real phenomenon , and weather disasters are undeniably linked to it . As temperatures rise, heat waves are more often sweeping the globe and parts of the world are becoming too hot to survive . What can be done? The Post is tracking a variety of climate solutions , as well as the Biden administrations actions on environmental issues . It can feel overwhelming facing the impacts of climate change, but there are ways to cope with climate anxiety . Inventive solutions: Some people have built off-the-grid homes from trash to stand up to a changing climate. As seas rise, others are exploring how to harness marine energy . What about your role in climate change? Our climate coach Michael J. Coren is answering questions about environmental choices in our everyday lives. Submit yours here. You can also sign up for our Climate Coach newsletter .