President Obama will propose sending $3 billion in aid to help developing nations adapt to the effects of climate change, according to multiple media reports.
The anticipated contribution to the Green Climate Fund, an independent trust fund established by the United Nations, is expected to drum up support for donations from other countries ahead of climate talks next year in Paris. It likely won’t represent a net increase in U.S. foreign aid, as Republicans would block such a move — rather, the White House will probably attempt to shift money from similar programs.
“I think there would be political difficulties if it resulted in a net increase in foreign aid,” said Alden Meyer, a longtime observer of international climate negotiations and policy director with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “No doubt I think the administration is going to have to make a case to get the funding for the Green Climate Fund appropriated here.”
Nations will meet next week in Berlin in hopes of raising $10 billion for a three-year funding period. The potential U.S. dollars put the Green Climate Fund more than halfway to that goal, bringing the total pot to about $6 billion, and could be key for engaging developing nations in the U.N. climate talks.
“A robust capitalization of the fund is key to unlocking the political dynamic around the negotiations,” said an international development source who focuses on climate change.
Developing nations say the fund is key to addressing historical greenhouse gas emissions by post-industrial nations. It’s developing nations that now have to deal with the effects of those emissions, such as rising sea levels and shifting agricultural patterns, but many are ill-equipped to do so.
But there’s still a ways to go toward appeasing developing nations. They, along with some non-profit organizations who work on development issues, are shooting for $15 billion in this funding round.
Developing nations still hope the fund will hold $100 billion in 2020 as was promised when it was first floated in 2010, though many observers call the goal unrealistic.
