Washington, DC – FP4A commends the Biden Administration and other world leaders on progress made at today’s Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). Of particular note, the announcement of a $1 billion U.S. contribution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and a proposed $500 million allocation to Brazil’s Amazon Fund demonstrate renewed U.S. commitment to working with our international partners to address the pressing physical, economic, and social risks posed by climate change.
Success in global efforts to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of temperature rise depends on a step change in global investment and financial flows. American leadership on this front is critical. This announcement marks the first U.S. contribution to the GCF since 2017 and brings us closer to meeting our original commitment to the fund as well as broader pledges to support developing country climate efforts. However, it also underscores how much more must be done to meet the moment. Even with this new funding, the U.S is falling $1 billion short on its original 2014 pledge as the GCF is entering its second replenishment.
“The $1 billion contribution to the GCF announced today is an important milestone in strengthening U.S. support for developing country partners on the front lines of climate change,” said Andrew Albertson, Executive Director of Foreign Policy for America. “Time and again, these countries have raised that access to resilience and clean energy finance is not just a development need but a security imperative. The GCF’s model of supporting country-driven investments to mobilize finance at scale means that the U.S. contribution, while only a first step, will be leveraged many times over and expand opportunities for closer diplomatic, economic and strategic cooperation.”
Alongside the significance of the international funding announced at the summit, the MEF highlighted both major achievements and opportunities to make headway on key challenges, from accelerating the transition to clean power and transportation to ending deforestation this decade and addressing potent climate pollutants like methane and HFCs. FP4A looks forward to working with Congress and the Biden Administration to deliver on this agenda leading up to and beyond COP28.
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