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Bloomberg Philanthropies steps in to fund US contributions to UN local weather physique, bridging hole left by Trump’s withdrawal from worldwide local weather agreements
WASHINGTON, USA — Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropy arm mentioned on Thursday, January 23, it is going to present funding to assist cowl the US contribution to the UN local weather physique’s price range, filling a niche left by President Donald Trump.
The brand new Republican president introduced after taking workplace on Monday that he would withdraw the US from the Paris local weather settlement and finish the nation’s worldwide local weather funding. Trump had additionally withdrawn the US from the Paris deal in his first 2017-2021 White Home time period.
Bloomberg is a media billionaire who additionally serves as a UN particular envoy on local weather change.
“Bloomberg Philanthropies and different US local weather funders will guarantee the US meets its world local weather obligations,” the group mentioned in a press release, including this included overlaying the quantity the US owes every year to the United Nations Framework Conference on Local weather Change (UNFCCC).
Bloomberg Philanthropies didn’t give particulars of the quantities of funding or who the opposite local weather funders are.
The UNFCCC is the UN’s main local weather physique. It runs annual local weather negotiations amongst practically 200 international locations and helps implement the agreements which can be made in these talks — the most important of which is the 2015 Paris Settlement.
Michael Bloomberg additionally pledged to work with states, cities and corporations to make sure that the US stayed on observe with its world local weather obligations.
“From 2017 to 2020, throughout a interval of federal inaction, cities, states, companies, and the general public rose to the problem to uphold our nation’s commitments — and now, we’re able to do it once more,” he mentioned within the assertion.
The US is liable for funding round 21% of the UNFCCC’s core price range. Final 12 months, it paid the UNFCCC a 7.2 million euro ($7.4 million) required contribution for 2024, and in addition paid off a 3.4 million euro arrears for missed contributions over 2010-2023.
A Reuters evaluation of UNFCCC paperwork final 12 months discovered the UN physique is experiencing a extreme price range shortfall, which diplomats mentioned had begun to disrupt components of the world’s local weather dialogue.
“We deeply respect the beneficiant help from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the management proven by Mike Bloomberg,” UN local weather chief Simon Stiell mentioned in a press release.
Linda Kalcher, government director at think-tank Strategic Views, mentioned Bloomberg’s transfer demonstrated a willingness — additionally shared by some US states — to step up and attempt to fill the hole left by the US withdrawal from worldwide local weather cooperation.
“That is the place the opposite US actors are available. I can foresee that lots of interplay will occur once more with the US companies and states that need to proceed,” mentioned Kalcher, who can be a former local weather adviser to the UN Secretary-Common.
Whereas the UN local weather physique’s core price range is shaped of contributions from governments, different components of its price range can settle for contributions from philanthropies and different organizations.
Bloomberg Philanthropies already contributed $4.5 million to the UNFCCC final 12 months, in response to UN public paperwork reviewed by Reuters.
The UNFCCC’s principal price range traces complete 240 million euros for 2024-2025, with about half of that anticipated to be allotted for this 12 months. – Rappler.com
