The United States will be contributing billions of dollars more to the United Nations for the purposes of fighting climate change.
While appearing at this week’s COP28 UN Climate Conference in Dubai this week, Vice President Kamala Harris pledged another $3 billion from the U.S. government toward this fund. As she said in a speech at the summit:
“Today, I am also proud to announce a new $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries invest in resilience, clean energy and nature-based solutions. … This is a pivotal moment – our action collectively, or worse our inaction, will impact billions of people for decades to come.”
While Harris made that announcement quite publicly, Reuters reported after the fact that Congress still would need to approve that amount. If it does, it would bring America’s total contribution to that specific UN fund to $5 billion.
A report by The Guardian contradicted that number by a lot, saying that the U.S. under President Joe Biden has committed $17.5 million to a separate loss and damage fund at the UN that looks to address any impacts of climate change.
Many environmental activists have said that the donation was “embarrassing,” according to the media outlet.
During her speech, Harris took what could be viewed as a swipe at former President Donald Trump, who is Biden’s main competition in the 2024 presidential election. Harris said:
“Around the world, there are those who seek to slow or stop our progress, leaders who deny climate science, delay climate action and spread misinformation.”
Politico reported that, in 2014, then-President Barack Obama pledged a similar $3 billion to the same UN climate change fund. However, the U.S. only ended up providing roughly $1 billion to it.
The irony of this week’s COP28 summit is that the Biden administration’s actions are not matching up with its rhetoric. The White House put together a huge congregation of people that it sent to the United Arab Emirates to represent the U.S.
Fox News reported recently that this action stumped Republican Senator John Barrasso from Wyoming, who is the ranking Republican member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate.
In letters that Barrasso sent to some members of the Biden cabinet, the senator wrote:
“A significant number of Biden bureaucrats will be traveling across the globe on the taxpayer’s dime, all in an effort to advocate for these anti-fossil fuel initiatives. They will, of course, utilize fossil fuels throughout their travels while ballooning their own carbon footprint.
“Even though COP28 has established a dedicated virtual platform to foster online participation, federal climate crusaders will gleefully spend the hard-earned money of the American people on airfare, hotels and fine dining as they participate in person.”
He further wrote that the American people wouldn’t “stand for this hypocrisy,” which he laid out right in front of all the people purportedly leading America’s fight against climate change.
