Biden to announce climate assistance funds in meeting with world leaders

President Biden on Thursday will announce additional funding to speed up the global energy transition as he convenes with other nations on climate change.

During a meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF), Biden will announce that the U.S. is providing $1 billion for the Green Climate Fund, which pays for low-carbon and climate-resilient projects in developing countries. 

Biden will also request $500 million over five years to support anti-deforestation efforts in Brazil – though Congress often does not allocate funds that the president asks for, according to a White House fact sheet. 

The fact sheet also said that the U.S. will announce “critical new steps” to better manage domestic forests, but did not specify what those steps are. 

The president will also call on other countries to take action — including in their overall goals as well as specific policy areas like electric vehicles. 

Biden will call for nations to set the collective goal of ensuring that electric vehicles make up 50 percent of sales of light duty vehicles and 30 percent of medium duty vehicles by 2030.

The president has already set a domestic goal of making 50 percent of new car sales electric by 2030. A recent proposed climate regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency may be even more ambitious — the agency projects it could result in making 60 percent of new light-duty cars electric in model year 2030. 

Countries that make up the MEF are responsible for roughly 80 percent of both global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.