Written by Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will announce plans to increase U.S. funding to help developing countries fight climate change and curb deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon during a meeting on Thursday with leaders of the world’s largest economies.
Biden will hold a virtual meeting of the Forum of Major Economies on Energy and Climate as part of his efforts to drum up support for measures to combat global warming. This is the fourth meeting of the group chaired by him.
Countries participating in the forum account for about 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions and global GDP, according to the White House.
The president will announce a $1 billion US contribution to the Green Climate Fund, which funds clean energy and climate resilience projects in developing countries, doubling the overall US contribution, according to the White House.
He will also announce plans to solicit $500 million over five years to contribute to the Amazon Fund, which works to combat deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, and related activities. A senior administration official said the Biden team will have to work with Congress to secure that funding.
Biden, who has made tackling climate change one of his top policy priorities, has set himself the goal of cutting US emissions by 50-52% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, saying developed countries must help developing countries tackle the problem.
This month, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed sweeping emissions cuts from new cars and trucks by 2032, in an effort to boost electric vehicles. The White House said Biden would encourage group leaders to join a collective effort to push for zero-emission vehicles, and to cut emissions from the shipping and energy industries.
Among the countries and entities that make up the Major Economies Forum are Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, the European Commission, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Vietnam.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Robert Purcell; Editing in Spanish by Flora Gomez)
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