US pledges to double financial aid for developing nations dealing with climate change

President Joe Biden on Tuesday pledged to double the financial aid for the developing countries to fight climate change and meet carbon emissions goals. The US, in April, had increased the climate change funding for the developing world to $ 5.7 billion, and in his recent speech at UN General Assembly, he said that the United States plans to double this contribution to an estimated $ 11.4 billion. Biden told world leaders at the UNGA that the climate crisis was “fast approaching the point of no return” due to global warming. He then went on to add that the US aims to become the world’s leading provider of climate finance to “help developing nations tackle the climate crisis”, with his announcement bringing the promised amount to more than $11 billion (€9.4 billion). 

Climate change a borderless' crisis, nations need to make it 'highest possible ambitions'

Labelling climate change as a "borderless crisis", Biden reassured that he was confident that the wealthier nations will fulfill their collective pledge of donating $100 billion to the financially struggling countries to help cope with repercussions of the natural disasters due to climate change such as mounting floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and other impacts as he urged the world for unity and multilateralism. The US leader asked the nations to drive their “highest possible ambitions” towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions to avert climatic hazards. “We cannot afford to waste any more time. Let’s get to work, let’s make our future better now,” he said. “We can do this. It’s in our power and capacity.” 

Highlighting the devastating impact of climate change, Biden said: “This year has brought widespread death and devastation from the borderless climate crisis. We are fast approaching the point of no return in a literal sense. Will we meet the threat of the more challenging climate already ravaging every part of our world with extreme weather or will we suffer the merciless march of ever-worsening droughts and floods, more intense fires and hurricanes, longer heatwaves and rising seas?”

President Joe Biden also referred to the United States’ withdrawal in Kabul, ending the two-decade war, associating it with the urgent need of tackling global climate change. “Instead of continuing to fight the wars of the past, we are fixing our eyes on devoting our resources to the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future,” Biden said. Furthermore, the US leader promised “a new era of relentless diplomacy” and of “using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world” as he reaffirmed his country’s pledge to lower-income countries deal with climate change.

Biden indicated that America aims to divert the funds invested in foreign military engagements towards more pressing global issues such as climate change and COVID-19, as the low income struggled for rich nations’ cooperation. Biden's remarks come in the backdrop of Climate Action Network’s statement, appealing to cancel the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland as it cited that the poor countries will not attend as they lack access to COVID-19 vaccines. 

"We must work together as never before," Biden said about the COVID-19 pandemic, as he called the 4.5 million deaths worldwide from COVID-19  "an individual heartbreak". He stressed, "We need to act now to get shots in arms as fast as possible and expand access to oxygen, tests, treatments to save lives around the world" as he asked the global community to finance "global health security" ahead of the emerging pandemics.