Climate Change Response (Multilateral)

FY2018 Funding Recommendation:  
$750 million

 

Funding History

       Enacted   

       House/Senate FY2017 Request   

       InterAction's FY2018 Recommendation

***Climate Change in Multilateral Accounts was a new program request for FY2017

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Justification

 Key Facts

  • The World Health Organization estimates that every year climate change causes 150,000 additional deaths from malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea, flood, and heat waves in the least developed countries in southwest Asia and southern Africa.

  • Approximately 100 million people live within three feet of sea level. Current projections suggest climate change associated sea level rise could displace tens of millions of people, many of whom live in developing countries.

  • According to the FAO, the population living in poverty could increase by between 35 and 122 million people by 2030 with the largest increases in Africa (an increase of up to 43 million people) and South Asia (an increase of up to 62 million people). 

U.S. leadership is required to ensure a strong international response to climate change. U.S. multilateral climate investments, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), complement and leverage U.S. bilateral investments to promote low-carbon pathways and address the impacts of global temperature rise and extreme weather events, all of which disproportionately affect poor, vulnerable communities.

InterAction recommends $750 million for the GCF in FY2018. The GCF, which began operations in 2015 and has received more than $10 billion in pledges for its initial four years of work, is intended to be the primary financial mechanism to support developing country efforts to build low-carbon, climate-resilient economies. The GCF complements other existing multilateral climate change funds. Its innovative framework focuses on the development and implementation of country-level strategies and plans for climate resilience and low-carbon development, coupled with robust monitoring and evaluation. It focuses on particularly vulnerable countries, including least developed countries, small island states, and African nations.

The $10.2 billion in pledges for the GCF to date include a $3 billion U.S. pledge; substantial pledges of at least $1 billion each from France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K.; and smaller pledges from Australia, Canada, other European countries, and a number of nontraditional donor countries including Colombia, Mexico, Mongolia, Panama, Peru, and South Korea. China also committed $3.1 billion in South-South climate finance flows to build on these investments. The U.S. pledge of $3 billion – not to exceed 30% of total confirmed pledges by donors – builds on previous U.S. multilateral investments by President George W. Bush that consistently received bipartisan support. An appropriation of $750 million for FY2018 keeps the U.S. on the right path to fulfilling its pledge.

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