Bloomberg charity to cover UN funds revoked with Paris Agreement withdrawal
Businessman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this week his philanthropic foundation will contribute the U.S.’s financial obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) after President Trump announced he would withdraw the U.S. from the agreement.
In a statement Wednesday through Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bloomberg said the organization will both cover the U.S.’s funding gap and its reporting requirements for planet-warming emissions.
The announcement does not specify a dollar amount the organization will contribute, but it committed about $15 million to the UNFCCC between 2017 and 2020 after Trump announced the withdrawal of the U.S. from the agreement in his first term.
The U.S. ordinarily pays about a fifth of the UNFCCC budget, which amounted to about $7.5 million in 2024.
“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. Now, philanthropy’s role in driving local, state, and private sector action is more crucial than ever — and we’re committed to leading the way,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
“While government funding remains essential to our mission, contributions like this are vital in enabling the UN Climate Change secretariat to support countries in fulfilling their commitments under the Paris Agreement and a low-emission, resilient, and safer future for everyone,” Simon Stiell, UNFCCC executive secretary, said in a statement.
Trump announced the executive order beginning the Paris withdrawal process within hours of taking office Monday. He previously announced the pullout months into his first term in 2017, while former President Biden began the rejoining process on the first day of his own presidency.
Once the withdrawal is complete, the U.S. will be one of only four countries not to participate in the agreement, along with Iran, Libya and Yemen.
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