As the climate crisis escalates, the needs of people around the world who are suffering the worst effects of climate change have gained wider acknowledgment. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a vital international effort to assist developing countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping their people adapt to the worst effects of climate change. Yet, although the United States is responsible for a huge share of emissions causing this crisis, it has made only token contributions to the Fund. Despite the efforts of UUSJ and partners last Spring, the U.S. FY 2022 budget provided no money for the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
 
As Congress focuses on the FY 2023 budget, we have an opportunity to demand that Congress redress its past failure to support the Green Climate Fund and share the power of our voice with those who have less recourse to influence decision-makers.  

In 2014, the United States promised the Green Climate Fund $3 billion, but only $1 billion was provided during the Obama Administration. No funds at all were provided during the Trump Administration. While the Biden Administration’s proposed budget for FY2022 would have gone some ways toward redressing past funding failures, a last-minute compromise in Congress drastically reduced U.S. funding for international climate efforts generally and eliminated money for the Green Climate Fund. 
 
In its FY2023 budget proposal, the Biden Administration has included $1.6 billion in the Green Climate Fund funding. While far short of the amount commensurate with the United States’ responsibilities, the challenge before us will be to prevent Congress from reducing this level of funding even further or eliminating it as in the last budget. 
 

Suggested Talking Points

(Use your own examples, tell your story, and/or draw on some of these suggested points)

• As the world’s largest historical greenhouse gas emitter, the U.S. has a moral imperative to provide finance for developing countries that respond to local climate action needs and facilitates an equitable transition from fossil fuels. 
• The Green Climate Fund is the world’s biggest multilateral climate fund, an important channel of climate finance for developing countries. It supports the implementation of the Paris Agreement and provides essential resources for mitigation and adaptation.  $3 billion is less than one-tenth of 1% of the total US budget of $6 trillion. 
• In 2014, the United States pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) but only transferred $1 billion before President Trump withdrew support for the Fund. In 2021, UUSJ and partner groups called on the new Administration and Congress to substantially increase support for the GCF.  While the Administration included money in its proposed budget for FY 2022, Congress zeroed out funding for the GCF.  
• The Biden Administration has proposed funding of $1.6 billion for the GCF for FY2023. The U.S. must demonstrate its moral and ethical financial leadership by providing at least that amount; failure to do so would seriously undermine our country’s credibility in its efforts to convince other countries to take action to address the climate crisis.

Sample Letter to Your Legislators
Use your own words. Speak from your heart  -- this is only a sample letter.

Dear Representative/Senator
 
I’m a Unitarian Universalist and supporter of the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice. As your constituent, I expect you to assert strong leadership for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) during upcoming negotiations on the FY 2023 budget.  
 
The U.S. has been among the greatest historic emitters of greenhouse gasses, and therefore, is undeniably a responsible party for the suffering the climate crisis has caused and will continue to cause. As a citizen, I recognize our nation’s global responsibility to assist developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate crisis hardships. The GCF is an effective way to provide such assistance yet to date the U.S. has lagged far behind other developed nations in providing financial support.    
 
Developing countries have done the least to cause the climate crisis, yet they are at the front lines of suffering. Americans have a moral obligation and a strategic interest to protect our common home. We must do so for the survival of life as we know it and to recapture respect for the U.S. global role and standing. It is a moral imperative that the U.S. commit our fair share to the Green Climate Fund commensurate with our historic emissions.