US congressional Republicans are moving to block funding for a number of UN climate change programs tied to the Paris climate agreement.
The US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Wednesday voted 35-27, along party lines, to advance a fiscal year 2026 funding bill for the State Department and other foreign operations. It includes language that would prohibit directing funds to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to implement the Paris climate agreement and to the related green climate, clean technology and loss and damages funds.
The bill does not specify any amount of funding that would be affected, but it could be in the billions, based on past US contributions to the UN programs.
The committee did not respond to requests for comment.
The restrictions would be in line with the President Donald Trump's decision to pull back from global engagement on climate change. Trump, in one of his first actions back in office, ordered the withdrawal of the country from the Paris agreement, and the State Department in February rescinded about $4bn in pledged US funding for the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The vote comes less than four months before the UN Cop 30 climate talk in Brazil, which plans to deliver a "roadmap" setting out how global climate finance could be increased to $1.3 trillion/yr. Brazilian officials have acknowledge that Trump's return to office could complicate those efforts.
Committee Democrats warned the bill would put US interests at risk and further isolate the nation from the rest of the world.
"Their bill surrenders our efforts to combat the climate crisis — eliminating support for climate adaptability and clean energy, ignoring the nexus between climate, conflict, and migration, and jeopardizing the safety and security of our children and our grandchildren," ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) said.
The GCF finances projects in developing and emerging countries with a focus on mitigation, adaptation and resilience efforts, such as climate-friendly agricultural methods, reforestation or coastal protection. It recently approved more than $1.2bn in funding for 17 projects across 36 countries. The GCF now has a portfolio of 314 projects, which total $18bn in GCF resources and $67bn including co-financing.
The appropriations bill still has several more steps to clear before the funding restrictions become law, including a vote by the full House. In addition, the Senate Appropriations Committee still has to take action and has not yet released its own version of the State Department bill. The committee is chaired by US senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), a supporter of US participation in the Paris agreement.
The committee did not respond to a request for comment.
A group of 41 Democratic senators on Wednesday called on Collins not to allow any appropriations bill to include "poison pill" policy riders, or language restricting the ability of federal agencies to carry out certain environmental policies that is often included in such legislation.
