Nature & Environment

Trump Win Sparks Fear Regarding Climate Aid

Brooke James
First Posted: Nov 15, 2016 05:50 AM EST

Donald Trump's win during the recent U.S. Presidential Elections could jeopardize a $100 billion plan that was launched by his seat rival, Hillary Clinton, some seven years ago to aid poor, foreign countries cope with climate change.

Delegates at the U.N. talks in Morocco noted that this had them worried, as Trump vowed to withdraw U.S. tax dollars from the organization's global warming programs, which were desined to help vulnerable countries shift to cleaner energy, among other things.

CBS News also noted that the immediate worry of these delegates at the climate talks is the repurcussions from Trump's win -- and what it means for the Obama administration's pledge of $3 billion to a key U.N. climate fund, with only $500 million disbursed so far.

Back when Clinton was Secretary of State in 2009, richer countries moved to mobilize $100 billion annually to poor countries. The pledges so far are part of such effort. Climate activists are now currently calling on these rich countries to raise their contributions, fearing that the possible withdrawal of U.S. funds could have a domino effect.

Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, chief negotiator for Congo and chairman of a group of least developed countries, said in regard to the disbursement of the funds, "That could be worrisome, as that money was never approved through the U.S. Congress and we now have a president who is unwilling to put that type of money out there."

Lidy Nacpil of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice also added that, "The U.S. is supposed to be the leader in raising this $100 billion, so if the US is not going to give, why will the other countries give?"

Yet, many negotiators in Morocco wants to believe the better. Times Union cited Chinese negotiator Gu Zihua as saying, "There will be a distinction between campaign policies and real policies. We should still wait and see what kind of measures the U.S. will take on climate change."

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

More on SCIENCEwr