Once again, the US won't fulfill its promises on climate aid for developing countries. The White House had hoped to quadruple spending.
The spending bill Congress released Tuesday only includes $1 billion for climate finance for poorer nations. The White House hoped to spend far more.

The Congress has reacted to President Joe Biden’s promise to quadruple climate finance for poorer countries to $11 million per year. The more than 4,000-page, multilingual government funding bill was released Tuesday by Congress. It would allow for just over $1 billion in international climate finance spending according to Insider's analysis. According to the environmental group, this amount represents a 0.09% decrease in fiscal 2022. The bill is expected to be passed by Congress this week. The White House expected Congress to appropriate $5.3 billion for climate aid. The budget package was announced a month after world leaders met in Egypt at the United Nations climate summit. They promised to increase funding for developing countries that are on the frontlines facing a climate crisis they did not cause. After more than 100 years of using fossil fuels to industrialize, the US and Europe are responsible for 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Joe Thwaites (NRDC's international climate finance advocate), who led the analysis told Insider that this "really undermines trust" in the US. It's disappointing, as the US was only beginning to make an appearance. The US commitments to international climate finance are not credible. "In August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. It includes almost $370 billion in climate spending and tax cuts for electric vehicles and homes. However, these amounts were likely to have been scuttled by Republicans who are long against funds like UN's Green Climate Fund, the largest global fund of money that can be used to aid developing countries adapt to rising temperatures and deploy clean energy. The Senate has a small majority of Democrats and must have at least 60 votes in order to pass a spending bill. It will be harder to find new money for climate projects as Republicans are expected to soon take control in the House. Neither the Senate Appropriations or House committees returned Insider's request for comment. The flexible accounts of US agencies such as the Export-Import Bank or International Development Finance Corporation could be used to fund climate projects. Thwaites stated that Congress has made it clear what they are and what they are willing to take. "The White House is now the center of attention. Biden's administration must light a flame under these agencies and ensure they are looking beneath the cushions in order to increase spending.