Bloomberg Philanthropies and "other US climate funders" will ensure that the US meets its funding and reporting obligations to UN climate body the UNFCCC, after President Trump withdrew the country from the Paris climate agreement earlier this week.
This is the second time that Bloomberg Philanthropies has "stepped in to help uphold [the US'] funding and reporting commitments… amid a lack of US federal climate leadership", the organisation said today. Trump pulled the US out of the Paris accord in his first term as US president, although then-President Joe Biden signed the agreement once more in early 2021.
Bloomberg will "work to ensure US subnational climate leaders track and report on US climate progress over the next four years", the organisation said today.
"Bloomberg Philanthropies has made significant investments in empowering local leaders, providing businesses with the data to track emissions while driving economic growth, and building coalitions across public and private sectors", founder Michael Bloomberg said. He is also a UN special envoy on climate ambition.
UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell welcomed the support, also noting that "government funding remains essential" for the climate body.
The finance referred to is not the international climate finance often discussed at UNFCCC talks, but funding which helps the climate body operate and host events such as the annual Cop climate summits.
It appears likely that the previous US administration had foreseen a lack of financial contributions from the Trump government. The US last year paid its arrears for the UNFCCC core budget in full — just under €3.4mn ($3.5mn) — leaving it in a minority of countries with no outstanding payments, UNFCCC accounts show. The US also contributed just under €7.3mn for 2024 — 22pc of the total contributed — again for the body's core budget, UNFCCC accounts show.
Bloomberg Philanthropies contributed $4.5mn to the UNFCCC in 2024 for "supplementary activities", while the US provided $2.74mn, UNFCCC accounts show.
Trump, in one of his first acts upon returning to office, on 20 January ordered the US to withdraw from the Paris agreement. That decision will take effect one year after the US gives formal notice to the UNFCCC.
