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Updated January 10, 2023
U.S. International Climate Finance: FY2023
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 “shall be an essential element of United
implemented by the executive agencies. Climate finance is
States foreign policy and national security. The United
funded primarily through programs at the Department of
States will work with other countries and partners, both
State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency
bilaterally and multilaterally, to put the world on a
for International Development (USAID). Funds for these
sustainable climate pathway.” As called for by the E.O., the
programs are requested in the President’s budget under the
United States released the U.S. International Climate
International Affairs function (Function 150) and funded
Finance Plan. According to the plan, “climate finance”
through the annual State, Foreign Operations, and Related
refers to “the provision or mobilization of financial
Programs (SFOPS) appropriation. Many activities are
resources to assist developing countries to reduce and/or
funded at agency subaccount levels, with allocations left to
avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to build
the discretion of the agencies under congressional
resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change.” The
consultation. Some additional international assistance is
plan includes a strategy for international climate finance
funded at other federal agencies (e.g., U.S. Environmental
with a 2025 horizon; summarizes steps and instruments
Protection Agency; National Aeronautics and Space
through which the U.S. government would mobilize climate
Administration; National Science Foundation; Peace Corps;
finance; and outlines how the U.S. government plans to
U.S. Trade and Development Agency; and Departments of
support climate-aligned finance flows more broadly. In it,
Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy).
the Administration pledged that
[t]he United States intends to double, by 2024, our
U.S. Administrations have typically divided international
climate finance into three main programmatic initiatives or
annual public climate financing to developing
categories:
countries relative to what we were providing during
the second half of the Obama-Biden Administration
Adaptation: programs that aim to assist low-income
(FY2013-16). As part of this goal, the United States
countries with reducing their vulnerability to climate
intends to triple our adaptation finance by 2024.
change impacts and building climate resilience.
The Biden Administration has since doubled the pledge
again. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on
Clean Energy: programs that aim to reduce greenhouse
September 21, 2021, President Biden stated he intends to
gas emissions from energy generation and energy use by
work with Congress to increase annual U.S. climate
accelerating the deployment of clean energy
financing to $11.4 billion annually, an amount he said was
technologies, policies, and practices.
necessary “to support the countries and people that will be
hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help
Sustainable Landscapes: programs that aim to reduce
them adapt.”
greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation.
FY2023 Budget Request and Authority
For FY2023, the Biden Administration’s State, Foreign
Congress oversees U.S. government assistance to lower-
Operations, and Related Programs budget request included
income countries for climate change initiatives.
“over $11 billion in international climate finance,” of which
Congressional committees of jurisdiction have included, but
there is “$5.3 billion in appropriations.” The request
are not limited to, the House Committees on Foreign
specified approximately $2.4 billion in multilateral
Affairs, Financial Services, and Appropriations and the
accounts; it did not specify funding levels in most bilateral
Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and
accounts (Table 1). On December 29, 2022, President
Appropriations. Congress undertakes several activities
Biden signed P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated
regarding international climate change assistance, including
Appropriations Act, 2023. Funds appropriated for
(1) authorizing federal agency programs and multilateral
international climate finance for FY2023 totaled not less
fund contributions, (2) appropriating funds for those
than about $1 billion, although some discretionary spending
authorizations, (3) providing guidance to the agencies on
in larger accounts may be categorized as climate-related by
authorized programs and appropriations, and (4) overseeing
the agencies in future reporting (Table 2).
U.S. interests in the programs.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
link to page 2 U.S. International Climate Finance: FY2023
Table 1. Climate Finance in the Biden Administration’s FY2023 Budget Request
(in millions of U.S. dol ars)
Agency
Program/Fund
Request
Multilateral Assistance and Debt Restructuring (Subtotal)
$2,377.7
U.S. Department of State
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / United Nations
$21.0
Framework Convention on Climate Change
Montreal Protocol Fund
$64.0
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Global Environment Facility
$127.7
Green Climate Fund
$1,600.0
Clean Technology Fund
$550.0
Tropical Forest Conservation and Coral Reef Act
$15.0
Bilateral Economic Assistance (Subtotal)
$341.5
U.S. Department of State
Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
$341.5
Other Accounts
Unspecified sub-
account level funding
Other Agencies
(Including U.S. Agency for International Development; Peace
Unspecified sub-
Corps; Mil ennium Challenge Corporation; U.S. Trade and
account level funding
Development Agency; Export-Import Bank; and International
Development Finance Corporation, among others.)
Climate Finance (Total)
Not less than $2,719.2
Source: U.S. Department of State, “Congressional Budget Justification Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs,”
FY2023, https://www.state.gov/fy-2023-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, U.S. International Climate Finance: A Primer. Of the FY2023 request, the State Department states: “Because the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) supports multiple environmental goals, only 85 percent of GEF funding ($127.67 mil ion [of the $150.2 mil ion
request]) is included in the climate finance totals.”
Table 2. Climate Finance in P.L. 117-328—Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
(in millions of U.S. dol ars)
Agency
Program/Fund
Funding Levels
Multilateral Assistance: Title V (Subtotal)
$272.7
U.S. Department of State
IPCC / UNFCCC
Unspecified
Montreal Protocol Fund
Unspecified
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Global Environment Facility
$127.7
Green Climate Fund
Unspecified
Clean Technology Fund
$125.0
Tropical Forest Conservation and Coral Reef Act
$20.0
Bilateral Economic Assistance: Title III (Subtotal)
$715.0
U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency Sustainable Landscapes
Not less than $185.0
for International Development, among
other development agencies
Adaptation
Not less than $270.0
Renewable Energy
Not less than $260.0
Climate Finance (Total)
Not less than $987.7
Source: Congress.gov.
Notes: See Table 1 note, above. Because the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) supports multiple environmental goals, only 85% of GEF
Richard K. Lattanzio, Specialist in Environmental Policy
budget authority ($127.67 mil ion of the $150.2 mil ion appropriation)
IF12036
is included in the climate finance totals.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
U.S. International Climate Finance: FY2023
Disclaimer
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12036 · VERSION 8 · UPDATED