Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropy arm, Bloomberg Philanthropies, has announced that it will provide funding to help cover the U.S. contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) budget. This move comes after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and end international climate funding.
Bloomberg Philanthropies stated that it and other U.S. climate funders will ensure that the U.S. meets its global climate obligations, which includes covering the amount the U.S. owes each year to the UNFCCC. The organization did not provide details on the amounts of funding or who the other climate funders are.
The UNFCCC is the U.N.’s leading climate body, responsible for running annual climate negotiations among nearly 200 countries and implementing agreements made in these talks. The U.S. is responsible for funding around 21% of the UNFCCC’s core budget, and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ funding will help fill a gap left by the U.S. withdrawal from international climate cooperation.
Michael Bloomberg, who serves as a U.N. special envoy on climate change, also pledged to work with states, cities, and companies to ensure that the U.S. stays on track with its global climate obligations. He stated that cities, states, businesses, and the public rose to the challenge to uphold the nation’s commitments during a period of federal inaction and are now ready to do it again.
The UNFCCC is experiencing a severe budget shortfall, which has begun to disrupt parts of the world’s climate dialogue. The organization’s core budget is formed of contributions from governments, but other parts of its budget can accept contributions from philanthropies and other organizations.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has already contributed $4.5 million to the UNFCCC last year, and the organization’s funding will help cover the U.S. contribution to the UNFCCC budget. The UNFCCC’s main budget lines total 240 million euros for 2024-2025, with about half of that expected to be allocated for this year.