President Biden said on Tuesday that his administration would seek dual aid aimed at helping developing countries tackle climate change, in April he pledged about $11.4 billion a year until 2024.
The pledge is seen as critical to the success of the UN-led climate talks that are due in Glasgow in November, though the amount and when the money will go into effect depends on congressional approval.
Climate change is perhaps the most important topic at this year’s General Assembly meeting, with new scientific evidence UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called an existential struggle.
Many developing countries have repeatedly pointed out that rich countries have not provided the $100 billion in aid they promised under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. A tally by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found a shortfall of about $20 billion.
Earlier in the year, Mr. Biden promised $5.7 billion, money that also needs approval from Congress.
Mr Guterres has warned that failure to deliver on such promises could jeopardize cooperation to rein in global greenhouse emissions and prevent the worst effects of warming. “It’s an important question of trust,” he said at a climate summit hosted by the White House last week.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will host the Glasgow talks, led a preparatory meeting with Mr Guterres on Monday. Mr Johnson later told reporters that November’s gathering “will be a turning point for the world, and it is the moment we grow up to take on our responsibilities.”
The scientific consensus is that global temperature rise needs to be limited to 1.5 °C. Beyond that limit, the potential for catastrophic consequences such as widespread crop failures and the collapse of the polar ice sheets is far greater.
“We are no longer on the wrong track – we are on the edge of the cliff,” Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, who serves as the president of the General Assembly, told the gathering on Tuesday. The low-lying Maldives is at risk of devastating floods in many countries due to rising sea levels.
In total, nearly 200 countries have pledged to reduce or slow down emissions of planet-warming gases under the Paris Agreement. But new promises are still missing from 70 countries, including China, which currently produces the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions, and India and Saudi Arabia, both large economies with a significant climate footprint. Brazil, Mexico and Russia have submitted new promises with weaker emissions targets than their previous ones.
Mr Biden’s revised pledge would make the United States, the largest emitter of planet-warming gases since the start of the industrial era, among the biggest global climate donors, though advocacy groups said it was still far from Washington’s fair share. is less.
“It is good to see President Biden increasing the amount America is contributing,” Mohamed Addo, director of Power Shift Africa, said in a statement. “However, America still owes little to that.”
Marshall Islands climate envoy Tina Steige said: “Watching Biden’s speech today, I thought – this is the announcement we’ve been waiting for. Now we’re looking at Congress working with Biden, and the rest of the G20 To follow suit.”