Biden seeks $11B for international climate change projects

President Joe Biden wants America to spend $11 billion on international climate change projects.

“Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2021, President Biden stated he intends to work with Congress to increase annual U.S. climate financing to $11.4 billion annually,” explained a Jan. 10 Congressional Research Service paper on international climate finance in fiscal year 2023.

• Read it for yourself: Congressional Research Service: U.S. International Climate Finance: FY2023

In his speech to the UN, Biden expressed a desire to make America “a leader in public climate finance.” The $11 billion he sought is just a down payment on a much larger goal: $100 billion to “support climate action in developing nations.”

As Biden said to the UN:

We also have to support the countries and people that will be hit hardest and that have the fewest resources to help them adapt.

In April, I announced the United States will double our public international financing to help developing nations tackle the climate crisis. And today, I’m proud to announce that we’ll work with the Congress to double that number again, including for adaptation efforts.

This will make the United States a leader in public climate finance. And with our added support, together with increased private capital and other — from other donors, we’ll be able to meet the goal of mobilizing $100 billion to support climate action in developing nations.

Thus far, about $988 million for international climate efforts has been appropriated. This was contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, otherwise known as the Omnibus.

• Read it for yourself: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023

Of that, $185 million will go to sustainable landscapes. These are “programs that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.”

Another $260 million will go to renewable energy. That’s defined as “programs that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation and energy use by accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies, policies, and practices.”

And another $270 million will go to adaptation. That’s defined as “programs that aim to assist low-income countries with reducing their vulnerability to climate change impacts and building climate resilience.”