LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 10 – THE BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES AND THE MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG FOUNDATION WILL NO LONGER CONTRIBUTE FUNDS TO THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO) AND THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (UNDP) FOLLOWING THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE.
BLOOMBERG, A LONG-TIME CHAMPION OF CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION, HAS HITHERTO PROVIDED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT THEIR ENDEAVORS TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CRISISAND PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
“WE SAW THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT AS A DESTRUCTIVE STEP THAT UNDERMINES GLOBAL EFFORTS TO TACKLE THE CLIMATE CRISIS,” SAID BLOOMBERG IN A STATEMENT. “MY PHILANTHROPIC ENTERPRISE WILL NO LONGER PROVIDE SUPPORT TO UNESCO AND UNDP, AS THEY ARE AGAINST THE VALUES OF MY FOUNDED AND THE FOCUS OF MY PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CLEAN ENERGY, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.”
THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IN 2017, HAS BEEN DEEPLY DEPLORABLE BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, WORLD LEADERS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS. THE AGREEMENT SEES COUNTRIES WORK TOGETHER TO LIMIT GLOBAL WARMING TO WELL BELOW 2 DEGREES AND PURSUE EFFORTS TO LIMIT IT EVEN FURTHER TO 1.5 DEGREES ABOVE PRE-INDUSTRIAL LEVELS BY THE END OF THIS CENTURY.
BLOOMBERG’S DECISION TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FROM UNESCO AND UNDP IS THE LATEST IN A STRING OF ACTIONS BY THE PHILANTHROPIST TO STAND UP AGAINST THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT. IN DECEMBER, BLOOMBERG’S BLOOMBERG POLITICO reported that THE PHILANTHROPIST WAS WITHDRAWING A $50 MILLION DONATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (UNDP) IN RESPONSE TO THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DECISION TO WITHDRAW FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT. THE DECISION HAS BEEN DEEPLY DEPLORABLE BY MANY IN THE CLIMATE COMMUNITY, WHO SEE IT AS A SETEGRAL PART OF THE PHILANTHROPIST’S ONGOING EFFORT TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE.
