The U.S. is withdrawing from the Green Climate Fund, a move in line with the Trump administration’s decision to leave the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The decision, effective immediately, means the U.S. is also stepping down from its seat on the fund’s board.
The GCF was established to supplement the objectives of the UNFCCC, the Treasury Department said in a Thursday statement, and America’s continued participation in the fund has been determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump administration’s priorities.
“Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the announcement.
Created by the UNFCCC, the GCF is the world’s largest dedicated fund to help developing countries combat climate change.
A day before, President Trump pulled U.S. support for 66 global organizations, agencies and commissions, including 31 U.N. entities. Among the agencies are the U.N.’s population agency, the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate regulations and the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which is tied to the U.N.’s Global Compact for Migration.
“Many of these bodies promote radical climate policies, global governance, and ideological programs that conflict with U.S. sovereignty and economic strength,” the White House stated in a fact sheet.
As the president pushes his America First agenda, the U.S. will no longer provide financial support or be bound to the organizations’ conventions or treaties.
This action would also exclude the U.S. from international climate change talks.
In an executive order, Mr. Trump wrote that he determined “it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in or otherwise provide support to the organizations” listed in the directive.
It also comes a year after his decision to quit the Paris Agreement, the 2015 accord to combat global warming, mirroring a move in his first term in office.
These actions are in line with his domestic policy initiatives aimed at scrapping pollution and fossil fuel regulations.
As Mr. Trump has labeled climate change a “hoax” and “the greatest con job,” he has accelerated efforts to roll back climate change actions.
Withdrawing from the GCF is “a get out of jail free card to countries and polluters who want to avoid responsibility,” said John Kerry, the former secretary of state and the special presidential envoy for climate during the Biden administration. “It’s another self-inflicted wound on the world stage.”
