On Thursday, Joe Biden vowed to give at least $1 billion of American taxpayers’ money to a climate fund at the United Nations, even though the fund has sent millions of dollars to China in the past.
As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Biden declared his support for the U.N.’s “Green Climate Fund” (GCF), claiming that the money his administration sends to the fund will support “developing countries in taking stronger climate action.” However, the U.N. still officially categorizes China as a “developing country,” thus making the Communist nation eligible to be one of the recipients of funding from the GCF.
In 2019, the GCF pledged at least $100 million to a “Green Development Fund” in Shandong, which is the second most heavily-populated province of China. In September of 2022, the GCF gave $28 million to China, with tens of millions still being reserved for China specifically. The GCF is scheduled to last until April of 2042.
Biden has previously pledged to give as much as $11 billion to the GCF and other initiatives to fund “developing countries” in their fight against so-called “global warming.” But when China refused to pay into Biden’s proposed “climate justice” fund for international climate investment, the administration was forced to take extra steps to guarantee “that China would not be eligible to receive money from it,” as reported by the New York Times.
China has also received widespread criticism on the international stage when it comes to environmental pollution, as the Communist nation is the top emitter of carbon by a considerable margin. In 2019, China’s greenhouse gas emissions “exceeded those of the U.S. and other developed nations combined,” according to a report. Despite China’s own promise to demonstrate “the highest possible ambition” in fighting global warming, China’s coal production reached record levels in 2021.
Efforts to subsidize China through climate funds has resulted in bipartisan criticism. In March, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill from Congresswoman Young Kim (R-Calif.) titled the “PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act,” which would formally remove China’s “developing nation” status at the U.N.
In response to the bill, Chinese state propaganda released a statement defending its “developing nation” label, declaring that “China has not only achieved remarkable results but also become the world’s second-largest economy and the largest trading country.”
“But despite all this,” the statement continues, “China’s per capita income is still much less than developed countries. This means it is still a developing country.”
Biden’s announcement also marked a reversal in U.S. foreign policy, as President Donald Trump had previously decided to end all American contributions to the GCF back in 2017. As such, the U.N. issued a statement congratulating Biden and claiming that the new American funding “will provide urgently needed climate finance for the most vulnerable countries in the world.”