{"id":24694,"date":"2022-05-31T15:44:21","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T19:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=24694"},"modified":"2022-08-28T17:43:37","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T21:43:37","slug":"climate-policy-loses-if-green-climate-fund-becomes-political-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/climate-policy-loses-if-green-climate-fund-becomes-political-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Policy Loses If Green Climate Fund Becomes Political Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a global platform established to respond to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development. The fund also assists vulnerable societies in adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Climate-related extremes have affected productivity in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Droughts, floods, wildfires, and marine heatwaves have affected food security, nutrition, and the livelihoods of millions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States — responsible for a huge share of emissions causing this crisis \u2013included no money for the GCF in last year\u2019s budget, despite the efforts of UUSJ and its partners. The FY-2023 budget now under consideration provides an excellent opportunity to fulfill our moral responsibility to help poorer countries that are the least responsible for the emissions causing global warming. The Biden Administration\u2019s proposal of $1.6 billion for the Green Climate Fund for 2023 is a good start, though an actual fair share amount would be larger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last month, UUSJ\u2019s advocacy efforts urged lawmakers to support the administration\u2019s GCF proposal.\u00a0 Environmental Action Team (EAT) volunteers helped coordinated the <\/span>Write Here! Write Now! <\/span><\/i>campaign and UUSJ hosted <\/span>Joe Thwaites<\/b> from the World Resources Institute Sustainable Finance Center for an Expert Opinion Briefing (<\/span>video<\/span><\/a>), attended by more than 50 people.<\/span><\/p>\n

UUSJ also contacted members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, to learn why the GCF fell out of the FY-2022 budget and what can be done for the FY-2023 cycle. UUSJ met with Sens. Chris <\/span>Coons<\/b> (D-DE), <\/span>Chair<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Dick <\/span>Durbin<\/b> (D-IL), Jeff <\/span>Merkley<\/b> (D-OR), and Marc <\/span>Rubio<\/b> (R-FL).\u00a0<\/span>Sen. Merkley — a champion of the fund — provided a <\/span>letter of support from the FY 22 cycle<\/b><\/a> (June 2021) and pledged to continue pushing for the GCF as a smart, solid, climate policy and program investment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Special thanks to the Illinois UU State Action Network, which helped drive UU constituent participation for a nice showing with Sen. Durbin, and for showcasing how UU state actors and UUSJ can successfully collaborate to impact federal action.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In our meetings, UUSJ learned that:<\/span><\/p>\n