By Faridat Salifu
President Joe Biden has called on the American Congress to allocate funds to the Green Climate Fund.
Biden is also requesting $100 million for the Amazon Fund, aimed at aiding Brazil in combatting deforestation, a crucial carbon sink for the planet.
Biden made the call in his 2025 fiscal year budget blueprint. He said the request aims to fulfill the U.S. commitment made during last year’s United Nations climate talks (COP 28) in the United Arab Emirates.
He pointed out that the allocation is to spread over four years.
Biden had made a commitment to contribute $11 billion yearly to global climate finance by 2024, $500 million in the fiscal year 2025, $750 million in the next two years, and $1 billion in the fiscal year 2028.
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Besides the funding proposal, Biden suggested making the spending mandatory in order to protect it from future changes in Congress.
The White House Office of Management and Budget in a statement noted that this program is a component of the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, which assists more than half a billion people in developing countries in adjusting to and managing the effects of climate change.
The State Department, in the statement, underscored that alongside Green Climate Fund reforms, this financial support will leverage private capital to enhance energy security, diversify energy sources, lower emissions, aid vulnerable populations in adapting to climate change, and bolster the resilience of economies and critical infrastructure.
Last year, Biden committed $1 billion to the Green Climate Fund, bringing the total U.S. contribution to $2 billion, still $1 billion short of the initial pledge under President Obama’s administration.
U.S. payments to the fund have been a contentious issue, with Republicans typically seeking to block them legislatively and former President Trump refraining from contributions.
Last year, House Republicans passed a funding bill that would halt Green Climate Fund payments, while the Senate’s bill doesn’t prevent Biden from transferring funds to the fund but doesn’t allocate specific money for that purpose.
