1 of 3 | President Joe Biden on Thursday announced $1 billion in funding to help developing countries address emerging environmental concerns during a meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI |
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April 20 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden announced $1 billion to help developing countries address emerging environmental concerns during a global climate forum Thursday at the White House.
The government aid, provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, will go to the Green Climate Fund to help developing nations implement stronger climate infrastructure. Biden will also use Thursday's conference to call on Congress to provide another $500 million for the Amazon Fund and other related climate initiatives around the world.
"Today, we have to do more than recognize the climate challenges we face. Seems to me we have to re-commit ourselves to action while we still have the time," Biden said.
The meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, days before Earth Day on Saturday, marks the fourth time the group of world leaders has convened since Biden took office.
Biden wants a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero vehicle emissions by no later than 2050.
Earlier this week, Biden announced new partnerships with two major ride-sharing companies to boost electric vehicle use throughout the United States after the Environmental Protection Agency proposed strict new limits on tailpipe emissions and a requirement that more than half of new vehicles manufactured in the United States be fully electric by 2032.
Two years ago, Biden pledged to work with Congress to quadruple U.S. climate support for developing countries to more than $11 billion a year by 2024, the White House said.
Thursday's meeting sought progress reports on key climate strategies the group of leaders previously identified as critical to meet the ambitious goal of cutting global carbon emissions by more than 50% by 2030.
The president spoke on efforts the United States is taking to align with an international climate blueprint that aims to reduce global warming by 1.5 degrees Celcius before the next century.
Biden announced the expansion of decarbonizing efforts in the transportation and utilities industries, as well as new global partnerships to end deforestation of the Amazon and other natural habitats around the world.
New efforts to cut methane emissions and harmful hydrofluorocarbons in the atmosphere are also in the works, the White House said.
Other countries offered updates on steps they have taken to accelerate carbon reduction at home under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement -- an international accord that set tangible goals for every nation to lower global warming levels over the next decade.
Fatih Birol, who serves as the executive director of the International Energy Agency, briefed the delegation on credible pathways to reach climate goals.
Nations represented at the meeting account for roughly 80% of global GDP and global greenhouse gas emissions, the White House said. Many attendees will also be at the COP28 summit this November in Dubai.
Efforts to curtail the climate crisis have recently gained steam around the world, with numerous global climate summits and Biden forming the climate council in April 2021 to help galvanize the response.
The Green Climate Fund "has approved over $12 billion for projects across more than 125 developing countries to accelerate clean energy transitions, build resilience in the most vulnerable countries, and catalyze private investment," the White House said.
