World Must Prepare To Tackle Global Warming Without US Support, Says UK Climate Envoy
Rachel Kyte warns that the US’s withdrawal from key climate initiatives requires a shift in focus for global green transition efforts
As the US continues to scale back its financial support for global climate initiatives, the world must prepare to combat global warming without relying on US aid, according to the UK’s climate envoy, Rachel Kyte.
This week, South Africa revealed that the US had pulled out of a coal-transition pact, retracting $1 billion it had committed to the initiative. In January, the US canceled $4 billion worth of pledges to the Green Climate Fund, the largest fund of its kind globally. The status of US contributions to green projects in Indonesia and Vietnam remains uncertain.
Speaking from Pretoria on Thursday, Kyte emphasised, “You plan for the worst and hope for the best. We have to plan for a world where the US is not transfusing funds into the green transition.”
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has disrupted climate and aid programs, dismantling organizations and withdrawing funding for efforts aimed at tackling climate change. Despite this, leaders from outside the US have vowed to continue their climate initiatives.
Kyte’s remarks also come amid a broader trend, with rich European nations, including the UK, slashing climate-related aid and development budgets to reallocate resources to defense, especially after Trump’s indicated shift in US security commitments to Europe.
Kyte emphasised the need for a strategic shift in focus. “Climate-finance initiatives will need to attract more money from private investors, multilateral development banks will need reform to play a larger role, and various initiatives must be ‘de-fragmented’ to create larger capital pools,” she said.
She further stated, “There has been an uptick in calls for reform to make the multilateral development-bank system more fit for purpose. Bigger, bolder, better. Bigger is uncertain as we see how the US participates in international efforts, but better and bolder are still on the table.”
Kyte also cautioned that while the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and climate-finance initiatives may be significant, its actual impact may be overstated, noting that although the US had pledged billions for climate projects, it had delivered far less than expected.
