Scientists continue to sound the alarm that deadly climate change has arrived, and that the impacts will continue to worsen if we as a global community cannot find a way to stop emitting greenhouse gasses by producing and burning fossil fuels. This summer, the hottest summer in human history, excessive heat caused widespread human suffering and contributed to drought and wildfires. Crop loss and economic impacts related to extreme heat ripple across multiple sectors of the economy year-round.
Given our considerable economic and technological resources, the United States should be a leader at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Negotiations this November and December (COP28) in Dubai, UAE. That’s the meeting where the global community gathers to talk about the shared goal of adapting and mitigating climate change.
The US should also set an example in the area of contributing financially to international climate finance mechanisms, which serve to bridge the equity gap between developed countries, who have benefited the most from burning fossil fuels, and developing countries, who bear the most significant impacts of climate change.
International climate financing mechanisms like the UN Loss and Damage Fund support projects in climate-vulnerable countries which support emission reductions and adaptation to climate change impacts. Without offering financial support, asking developing countries to reduce their carbon emissions poses both ethical and practical problems, as these countries must also work to improve the standard of living for their populations and adapt to climate change impacts already occurring alongside any climate mitigation goals.
Supporting emission mitigation projects in developing countries through global climate financing is a smart strategy which addresses historic inequities, current needs, and the shared global goal to reduce carbon emissions for a sustainable climate. There are currently two mechanisms in place that serve this goal, the Green Climate Fund, to which the Biden Administration pledged a $1 billion contribution earlier this year, and the Loss and Damage fund, which was instituted during COP27.
The Biden Administration’s pledge to international climate change is good news. But the Administration cannot follow through on that pledge without the support of Congress. Currently, the twelve appropriations bills which allocate money to various entities which carry out the work of the federal government, are in limbo as the House of Representatives works to secure a new Speaker.
For the US delegation to COP to have credibility in their negotiations with global partners around international climate finance, they must be able to trust that the US Congress will follow through on their commitments by passing appropriations bills. The current struggle to select a new Speaker of the House and the ongoing threat of a government shutdown over appropriations bills directly harms the credibility of the United States among the international climate community.
Putting it all together, mitigating climate change and supporting those already affected by climate change are moral obligations. For the US to be a leader in the international community addressing climate change, we must have a legislative branch that is up to the task of faithful negotiation, compromise, and putting the needs of the least, the last, and the lost ahead of partisan preferences.