The president said it was the ‘first ever’ such plan from the U.S. during his two-day climate change summit.
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new climate finance plan during his two-day summit that seeks to boost funding for developing countries.
“Today we are issuing America’s first ever international climate finance plan,” Biden said at his virtual climate change summit. “This plan represents our vision for financing the global climate response in a coordinated way. It lays out specific steps that federal agencies of the United States will take to increase both the quality and quantity of climate financing.”
Under the plan, the U.S. aims to double its climate financing to developing countries by 2024 relative to the second half of the Obama administration and triple its adaptation funds in the same timeframe. The White House’s executive summary of the plan did not list specific funding numbers and said that the Biden administration “will work closely with Congress to meet these goals.”
The plan defined climate finance as referring “in part to the provision or mobilization of financial resources to assist developing countries to reduce and/or avoid greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change.”
The plan also calls on agencies and departments to “seek to end international investments in and support for carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy projects,” though it didn’t specify which fossil fuels the administration considers to be “carbon-intensive.”
Biden said the initiative will help “spur” the private sector to contribute more to climate solutions in the U.S. and in developing countries.
“Good ideas and good intentions aren’t good enough. We need to ensure that the financing will be there, both public and private, to meet the moment on climate change and to help us seize the opportunity for good jobs, strong economies and a more secure world,” he said.