The United States won’t backtrack on providing climate aid to poorer nations, a leading American official said Wednesday.
The vow by White House climate adviser John Podesta comes as nations worldwide enter a final crunch to determine a new target for climate finance ahead of global climate talks next month. But much of America’s ability to fulfill that promise depends on the outcome of U.S. elections in November.
The United States “will continue to provide support to developing countries,” Podesta said during a ministerial meeting in Azerbaijan, host of this year’s COP29 climate summit. “We won’t walk backwards.”
His comments offered a vague outline of America’s negotiating position on the key issue of this year’s talks: determining how much money countries can deliver to help developing nations cut planet-warming pollution and guard against growing climate disasters.
