Trump asks how much green goes to global groups
washington» Donald Trump’s presidential transition team has asked State Department officials to disclose how much money it provides each year to international environmental groups. It’s the latest example of how the incoming administration is reassessing the U.S. government’s approach to tackling climate change and other environmental priorities.
As part of a list of questions posed last week to the department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, the Trump landing team asked, “How much does the Department of State contribute annually to international environmental organizations in which the department participates?”
The individuals familiar with the request spoke on the condition of anonymity because transition communications are confidential.
It is unclear which specific groups the transition team was referring to in its question; a spokesman for the president-elect did not respond to a request for comment Monday night.
The State Department has worked aggressively under President Barack Obama to support international initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, but Trump has vowed to pull back from such efforts.
On Nov. 1, Trump said he would “cancel billions of dollars in global warming payments to the United Nations” and devote that money instead to green infrastructure projects and environmental protection.
His campaign released a policy statement that day suggesting that he would “cancel all wasteful climate change spending,” which would include the elimination of all of the federal government’s international and domestic climate programs as well as a rollback in regulations aimed at cutting carbon emissions.
The campaign estimated that these moves would save $100 billion over eight years, although it did not release a detailed accounting of how those savings would be generated.
As part of the Paris climate agreement reached a year ago, the United States pledged to donate $3 billion over four years to the Green Climate Fund, a multinational fund aimed at helping poor nations adapt to the most severe climate impacts and develop renewable sources of energy. So far, the administration has provided $500 million to the fund.
The State Department does spend money on global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, although it is unclear how much is annually budgeted for such work. According to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report, federal spending on climate change initiatives between fiscal year 2008 and 2013 totaled roughly $77 billion. Twothirds of those funds went to developing carbon-free technology and deploying those advances, and most of that work was undertaken by the Energy Department, rather than State.
The State Department has not responded to the Trump transition team’s question about its support for international environmental organizations, according to a person familiar with the request.