WASHINGTON (AFP) – Billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday that his foundation will step in to fund the United Nations (UN) climate change body after United States (US) President Donald Trump declared the US would withdraw from the Paris Agreement for the second time.
Bloomberg’s intervention aims to ensure the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) remains fully funded despite the US halting its contributions.
The US typically provides 22 per cent of the UNFCCC secretariat’s budget, with the body’s operating costs for 2024-2025 projected at EUR88.4 million (USD96.5 million).
“From 2017 to 2020, during a period of federal inaction, cities, states, businesses, and the public rose to the challenge to uphold our nation’s commitments – and now, we are ready to do it again,” Bloomberg, who serves as the UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, said in a statement.
This marks the second time Bloomberg has stepped in to fill the gap left by US federal disengagement.
In 2017, following the Trump administration’s first withdrawal from the Paris accord, Bloomberg pledged up to USD15 million to support the UNFCCC.
