By Aaron Miller-
Billionaire former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg has said he will write a $4.5m cheque to cover the US’s financial commitment to the Paris Climate agreement for 2018.
Donald Trump pulled the US out of the climate pact last year, saying it was a “terrible deal” which would “undermine” the economy and put the US at a “permanent disadvantage”.
The move made the U.S the only country in the world opposed to the climate change agreement which aims to cut carbon emissions in an effort to restrict global temperature rises to less than 2C by the end of this century
The U.S pledged $3bn to the Green Climate Fund, set up by the UN to assist countries deal with the effects of global warming. However, the contribution by Mr Bloomberg does not aim to cover this, but the US contribution to the UN’s climate change secretariat.
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“America made a commitment and, as an American, if the government’s not going to do it then we all have a responsibility,” Mr Bloomberg said on CBS.
“I’m able to do it. So, yes, I’m going to send them a cheque for the monies that America had promised to the organisation as though they got it from the federal government.”
His charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, offered $15m to cover a separate climate change shortfall last year.
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It said the money would go to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Bloomberg might be concerned about climate change, but there are also those who wonder if the contribution he is making will notably affect anything positively. All financial contribution to any course is always a positive thing to appreciate, but the challenge of climate change requires a number of people with money to keep their hands in their back pocket to address the problem.
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