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February 7, 2022
U.S. International Climate Finance: FY2022
U.S. International Climate Finance
The Biden Administration’s
Over the past several decades, to varying degrees, the
International Climate Finance Plan
United States has delivered financial and technical
With Executive Order (E.O.) 14008, “Tackling the Climate
assistance for climate change activities in the developing
Crisis at Home and Abroad,” of February 1, 2021 (86
world through a variety of bilateral and multilateral
Federal Register 7619), President Joe Biden directed that
channels with appropriations passed by Congress and
climate change
implemented by the executive agencies. Climate finance is
funded primarily through programs at the Department of
shall be an essential element of United States
State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency
foreign policy and national security. The United
for International Development (USAID). Funds for these
States will work with other countries and partners,
programs are requested in the President’s budget under the
both bilaterally and multilaterally, to put the world
International Affairs function (Function 150) and funded
on a sustainable climate pathway. The United States
through the annual State, Foreign Operations, and Related
will also move quickly to build resilience, both at
Programs (SFOPS) appropriation. Many activities are
home and abroad, against the impacts of climate
funded at agency subaccount levels, with allocations left to
change that are already manifest and will continue
the discretion of the agencies under congressional
to intensify according to current trajectories.
consultation. Some additional international assistance is
funded at other federal agencies (e.g., U.S. Environmental
As called for by the E.O., the United States released the
Protection Agency; National Aeronautics and Space
U.S. International Climate Finance Plan. According to the
Administration; National Science Foundation; Peace Corps;
plan, “climate finance” refers to “the provision or
U.S. Trade and Development Agency; and Departments of
mobilization of financial resources to assist developing
Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy).
countries to reduce and/or avoid greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and to build resilience and adapt to the impacts of
U.S. Administrations have typically divided international
climate change.” The plan includes a strategy for
climate finance into three main programmatic initiatives or
international climate finance with a 2025 horizon;
categories:
summarizes steps and instruments through which the U.S.
government would mobilize climate finance; and outlines
Adaptation: programs that aim to assist low-income
how the U.S. government plans to support climate-aligned
countries with reducing their vulnerability to climate
finance flows more broadly. In it, the Administration
change impacts and building climate resilience.
pledged that
Clean Energy: programs that aim to reduce greenhouse
[t]he United States intends to double, by 2024, our
gas emissions from energy generation and energy use by
annual public climate financing to developing
accelerating the deployment of clean energy
countries relative to what we were providing during
technologies, policies, and practices.
the second half of the Obama-Biden Administration
(FY2013-16). As part of this goal, the United States
Sustainable Landscapes: programs that aim to reduce
intends to triple our adaptation finance by 2024.
greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest
The Biden-Harris Administration will work closely
degradation.
with Congress to meet these goals.
Congress oversees U.S. government assistance to lower-
The Biden Administration has since doubled the pledge
income countries for climate change initiatives.
again. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on
Congressional committees of jurisdiction have included, but
September 21, 2021, President Biden stated he intends to
are not limited to, the House Committees on Foreign
work with Congress to increase annual U.S. climate
Affairs, Financial Services, and Appropriations and the
financing to $11.4 billion annually, an amount he said was
Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and
necessary “to support the countries and people that will be
Appropriations. Congress undertakes several activities
hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help
regarding international climate change assistance, including
them adapt.”
(1) authorizing federal agency programs and multilateral
fund contributions, (2) appropriating funds for those
FY2022 Budget Request
authorizations, (3) providing guidance to the agencies on
The Biden Administration has requested $2.5 billion for
authorized programs and appropriations, and (4) overseeing
international climate finance in the Department of State,
U.S. interests in the programs.
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, FY2022, budget
request (see Table 1).
https://crsreports.congress.gov
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Table 1. Climate Finance in the Biden Administration’s FY2022 Budget Request
(in mil ions of U.S. dol ars)
Agency
Program/Fund
Request (in millions)
Multilateral Climate Change and Environmental Funds (Subtotal)
$1,799.3
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Green Climate Fund (one-half)a
$625.0
Global Environment Facilityb
$149.3
Clean Technology Fund
$300.0
U.S. Department of State
Green Climate Fund (one-half)c
$625.0
Unspecified “adaptation funds”d
$100.0
Bilateral and Other Programming (Subtotal)
$700.7e
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Tropical Forest Conservation and Coral
$15.0
Reef Act (debt restructuring)
U.S. Department of State
UNFCCC / Intergovernmental Panel on
$21.0
Climate Change
Montreal Protocol Fund
$64.0
Other Agencies
U.S. Agency for International
Unspecified sub-account level funding
Development: Development Assistance;
International Disaster Assistance; and
Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and
Central Asia
U.S. African Development Foundation
Unspecified sub-account level funding
Peace Corps
Unspecified sub-account level funding
Mil ennium Challenge Corporationf
Unspecified sub-account level funding
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Unspecified sub-account level funding
Export-Import Bank
Unspecified sub-account level funding
International Development Finance
Unspecified sub-account level funding
Corporation
Climate Finance (Total)
$2,500.0
Source: U.S. Department of State, “Congressional Budget Justification Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs,”
FY2022, https://www.state.gov/fy-2022-international-affairs-budget/.
Notes: For a discussion of the multilateral funds and programs, and a primer on U.S. international climate finance commitments, see CRS In
Focus IF10763, Paris Agreement: U.S. Climate Finance Commitments.
a. One half of total contribution of $1,250,000,000, to be paired with the U.S. Department of State’s Green Climate Fund contribution from
the Economic Support Fund.
b. The $149,288,000 request includes the final instal ment to the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) seventh replenishment (GEF-7; FY2019-
FY2022) and $12,700,000 for prior unmet commitments). While the budget request categorizes the entire GEF contribution as climate
change-related, the GEF includes other types of environmental programming (e.g., related to biodiversity, international waters, and
chemical pollutants).
c. One half of total contribution of $1,250,000,000, to be paired with the Department of the Treasury’s contribution.
d. To be determined by the U.S. Department of State. These potential y include multilateral funds such as the Adaptation Fund, the Least
Developed Country Fund, and the Special Climate Change Fund, among others.
e. The budget request does not specify the $700,700,000 figure for the bilateral programming as it had specified the $1,799,300,000 figure
for the multilateral programs. Since the total figure is listed as $2,500,000,000 (p. 124), CRS calculated the remainder through subtraction.
f.
The budget request states that “the agency wil start stepping up its climate-related work in FY22, with a goal that more than 50 percent
of its program funds in the next five years are devoted to climate related activities” (pp. 100-101).
IF12036
Richard K. Lattanzio, Specialist in Environmental Policy
https://crsreports.congress.gov
U.S. International Climate Finance: FY2022
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12036 · VERSION 1 · NEW