US pledges $3bn to UN Green Climate Fund

President Barack Obama announced on Saturday that the United States will contribute US$3 billion to the Green Climate Fund to help developing nations deal with climate change.

The announcement was made on the eve of the opening of the 2014 G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, and mirrors the commitment the United States has provided since the Fund’s inception in 2010.

Over the past years the United States has been an instrumental member of the Green Climate Fund Board, which is a stand-alone governance body that has shaped and structured this innovative Fund.

“Along with the other nations that have pledged support, this gives us the opportunity to help vulnerable communities with an early warning system, with stronger defences against storm surge, climate resilient infrastructure, to help farmers plant more durable crops" said Mr. Obama at an event in Australia. He continued that the Fund “… allows us to help developing countries to break out of the false choice between development and pollution” and that it will help “… leap-frog some of the dirty industries that powered our development, go straight to a clean energy economy that allows them to grow, create jobs, and at the same time reduce their carbon pollution.”

Héla Cheikhrouhou, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund welcomed the announcement, which comes days ahead of the Fund’s first High-Level Pledging Conference on 20 November in Berlin, Germany, where more than 20 contributing countries will meet to contribute towards GCF’s Initial Resource Mobilization.

“This week's announcements will be a legacy of U.S. President Obama. It will be seen by generations to come as the game-changing moment that started a scaling-up of global action on climate change, and that enabled the global agreement,” said Ms. Cheikhrouhou. “With the U.S. pledge, we are more confident than ever that an increasing number and volume of contributions to the Fund will be announced in the days and weeks ahead,” she added, quoting Mr. Obama's statement that "no nation is immune, and every nation has a responsibility to do its part". She further affirmed “I am certain that this Fund will meet contributors' expectations in its delivery on the ground.”

With today’s U.S. announcement, the pledges received so far by the Green Climate Fund from 12 countries amount to a total of US$ 6 billion equivalent.

Financing from the Green Climate Fund plays a critical role. It will trigger a multiplier effect that will mobilize private and public investments at scale. The Green Climate Fund opens limitless opportunities for deploying resilient and clean solutions to foster economic growth and jobs globally.

The Green Climate Fund will hold its High-Level Pledging Conference on 20 November 2014 in Berlin, Germany. A separate media advisory regarding the press conference on the same day will be shared through this channel.