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Earlier this month, the United States withdrew from an important international organization that many in the U.S. are likely unfamiliar with: the United Nations’ Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. The Fund is the first-ever effort to have wealthy nations pay for some of the damages that they have inflicted on other countries through greenhouse gas pollution. By withdrawing from the Fund, the U.S. has abandoned its responsibility to the rest of the world for the harm caused by its pollution, neglecting both human needs and the needs of our planet.
The U.N. Loss and Damage Fund is an ambitious effort that recognizes that wealthy nations should bear some responsibility for the damages that they have already caused. The 25 national governments that agreed to contribute to the Fund have been responsible for nearly half of all carbon dioxide emissions over the last several centuries. They have reaped the benefits of industrialization while imposing costs upon the entire planet. The historical advantage that this past pollution has given wealthy countries should be met by an obligation to help the rest of the world manage its effects. That includes helping them to repair their environment, prepare for natural disasters, and transition away from dirty fossil fuels.
Since the creation of the Fund for Loss and Damages in 2022, the United States has held great sway over the effort. The U.S. government appoints the leader of the Fund’s host, the World Bank, and holds a de facto veto over its decision-making. The U.S. also sought to weaken the Fund during negotiations, insisting that wealthy nations’ contributions be seen as voluntary instead of as a fulfillment of an obligation.
The United States emitted 432 billion tons of carbon dioxide from 1800 to 2023 as it developed into the world’s most powerful nation. This makes it the world’s largest cumulative source of CO2 pollution, contributing nearly 24% of the planet's total carbon dioxide emissions. Despite this, the Biden administration pledged only $17.5 million to the Loss and Damage Fund. So while the United States was responsible for 24% of all CO2 emissions, it offered only 2.4% of the total funding to help make up for it.
Representatives of the Global South have criticized wealthy countries for their paltry contributions to the fund, which fall far short of the true cost of the damages and the needs of people around the world. A group of developing nations on the Fund’s board have offered a conservative estimate that the fund will need to be able to offer at least $100 billion a year in financing, while an independent estimate suggests that the Fund should offer $395 billion in financing each year. The existing pledges made by the U.S. and other wealthy nations provide for only a fraction of these needs.
The United States has been one of the worst offenders in terms of its minuscule pledges to the Loss and Damage Fund. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. offered about $0.04 for every 1,000 tons of CO2 pollution it emitted throughout history, which put it in last place among the top 10 polluters contributing to the Fund. But by withdrawing from the Fund, the Trump administration appears to be suggesting that our pledged contribution is now $0.00, completely abandoning all responsibility for our own actions.
This decision has been just one of many by the second Trump administration to disrupt global climate diplomacy. They have also withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and disavowed our climate finance commitments, turning the U.S. into a pariah on this issue and disrupting the primary process through which the world is cooperating for a cleaner future. The administration has also blocked U.S. officials from contributing to the next report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a key document that monitors the state of our global climate crisis.
As one of the world’s largest sources of pollution, the United States has an obligation to address the damage that it’s caused. By working with others around the world on this issue, we recognize the equal value of all lives and the rights of all people to live in a clean, healthy environment. The Trump administration’s abandonment of both international diplomacy and our own responsibilities to the world is a shameful rejection of this shared humanity.
Our government should not only reverse these damaging decisions but also redouble its commitment to addressing climate change. The U.S. should substantially increase its international climate finance contributions and use its diplomatic influence to advocate for bold cooperative solutions toward a just transition away from fossil fuels that meets the needs of working people everywhere.
Climate change does not stop at our national borders, and neither should our efforts to fix it.
