Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's philanthropy arm said on Thursday it will provide funding to help cover the U.S. contribution to the U.N. climate body's budget, filling a gap left by President Donald Trump.
The new Republican president announced after taking office on Monday that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement and end the country's international climate funding. Trump had also withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris deal in his first 2017-2021 White House term.
Bloomberg is a media billionaire who also serves as a U.N. special envoy on climate change.
"Bloomberg Philanthropies and other U.S. climate funders will ensure the United States meets its global climate obligations," the organization said in a statement, adding this included covering the amount the U.S. owes each year to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Bloomberg Philanthropies did not give details of the amounts of funding or who the other climate funders are.
The UNFCCC is the U.N.'s leading climate body. It runs annual climate negotiations among nearly 200 countries and helps implement the agreements that are made in these talks - the biggest of which is the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Michael Bloomberg also pledged to work with states, cities and companies to ensure that the U.S. stayed on track with its global climate obligations.
"From 2017 to 2020, during a period of federal inaction, cities, states, businesses, and the public rose to the challenge to uphold our nation’s commitments - and now, we are ready to do it again," he said in the statement.
The U.S. is responsible for funding around 21% of the UNFCCC's core budget. Last year, it paid the UNFCCC a 7.2 million euro ($7.4 million) required contribution for 2024, and also paid off a 3.4 million euro arrears for missed contributions over 2010-2023.
A Reuters analysis of UNFCCC documents last year found the U.N. body is experiencing a severe budget shortfall, which diplomats said had begun to disrupt parts of the world's climate dialogue.
"We deeply appreciate the generous support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the leadership shown by Mike Bloomberg," U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said in a statement.
Linda Kalcher, executive director at think-tank Strategic Perspectives, said Bloomberg's move demonstrated a willingness - also shared by some U.S. states - to step up and try to fill the gap left by the U.S. withdrawal from international climate cooperation.
"This is where the other U.S. actors come in. I can foresee that a lot of interaction will happen again with the U.S. businesses and states that want to continue," said Kalcher, who is also a former climate adviser to the U.N. Secretary-General.
While the UN climate body's core budget is formed of contributions from governments, other parts of its budget can accept contributions from philanthropies and other organizations.
Bloomberg Philanthropies already contributed $4.5 million to the UNFCCC last year, according to U.N. public documents reviewed by Reuters.
The UNFCCC's main budget lines total 240 million euros for 2024-2025, with about half of that expected to be allocated for this year.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
26 Comments
Peter14
Nice!
Yubaru
Be nice for other billionaires to assist too!
Bad Haircut
That's fine. Better he waste his own money than force taxpayers to part with theirs.
WhiskeyGalore
We are certainly going to get a list of things that appointed billionaires will tell you taxpayers will have their money spent on.
GuruMick
Blacklabel....are suggesting a billionaire media mogul is a "leftist " ?
Are you suggesting climate science has a left/right political dimension. ?
Climate science is established science.
When big oil like "Shell " accept the science and at least pay lip service to it, you would imagine the results are in.
Trump would change his tune depending on who pays him.
And billionaires are not leftists either.
Tokyo Guy
NY showing the world what it means to step up.
I like the symbolism, too; there are surely few states that hate the felon in chief as much as NY.
Blacklabel
It’s my opinion about this topic that people who care about such things can pay for them. Not our tax money. This could start a good trend if we make a list and assign people to pay based on what their “cause” is.
Blacklabel
Yes. As he was a Democrat candidate for president.
for a very short time, but still.
Blacklabel
i like this NY symbolism:
“The New York Police Department has announced that, for the first time in 30 years, there were zero shooting victims reported in New York City over a 5-day period.”
Hate all you want, the citizens love him and what he causes to happen and not happen.
WhiskeyGalore
Some dude
Hate all you want, the citizens love him and what he causes to happen and not happen.
The last time New York voted red was 1984.
wallace
Good for him, Bloomberg picks up the tab. How many from Davos are willing to do the same?
BB
Bloomberg is a good man.
lincolnman
Donald "trumped" by Bloomberg...
More MAGA-losing and humiliation...
Better get used to it...
Blacklabel
Trump made Bloomberg pay instead of the American taxpayer, that’s a win!
JustAGoodOleBoy
Obviously he has money to burn.
JustAGoodOleBoy
How many NDA did he force the UN's female staff to sign before he provides funding?
wallace
No need for false claims. Trump does not produce the air we breathe.
nishikat
Hey Trump people, do you realize that two major hurricanes hit a major Trump state in the east and did a lot of damage? Cal has forest fires from climate change. Florida has destruction on the coast from major storms because of climate change. Climate change does not care if you are a Hillary or Trump person. It destroys both. Hurricanes don't turn away and they don't fear Trump when they hit Trump states in the south. It will continue and no one of any party can stop it (but MTG says weather is controlled by Hillary's remote control)
they control the weather
(MTG)
Blacklabel
it’s the reason the entire article exists.
Trump won’t pay so Bloomberg will have to.
Thus he made Bloomberg pay for it, not the taxpayer.
its pretty simple to understand.
wallace
Trump knew if he withdrew from the Paris Accord Bloomberg would cough up. I guess Trump is psychic.
Blacklabel
Guess he is?
He knew someone else would pay and look what happened?
Someone else did, and it was Bloomberg.
wallace
No, he did not and Trump has already expressed his view that climate change is a hoax. He could not care less about it.
Blacklabel
Exactly! So we don’t care who pays (or if anyone at all pays) as long as it’s not the American taxpayer.
winning!
nishikat
The Japanese government is paying for all those sea and river walls to deal with rising sea levels. Do those concrete structures on trees? No, they are paid for with Japanese tax and Trump people living in Japan pay for that as well with their tax from living in Japan. It's an environmental cost that is coming from the Japan-based tax payer. Thank god I'm living in Japan with sane government policies for infrastructure from collected tax.
Toblerone
Climate science is established science.
Don’t make me laugh!