Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

The US should transform its climate pledge into action

  • William Wilkes William Wilkes
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 24 Nov 2022 16:16
5 Min Read

The loudest call at the conference was for the world to work together to address climate change, urging developed countries, led by the US, to fulfill their climate finance commitment as soon as possible.

  • x
  • The US should transform its climate pledge into action
    The US should transform its climate pledge into action

On November 20, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt was concluded. The loudest call at the conference was for the world to work together to address climate change, urging developed countries, led by the United States, to fulfill their climate finance commitment as soon as possible. Back in 2009, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, rich nations led by the United States made a significant pledge. They promised to channel US$100 billion a year to less wealthy nations by 2020 to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperature. But that promise was broken, and it has not yet been fulfilled. At the COP27, President Biden said the US would pledge to the Adaptation Fund $100 million. But as of yet, the US has not disbursed the $50 million it pledged to the Fund at last year’s COP26. Not only that, but the US owes the Green Climate Fund $2 billion. Although Biden apologized for the US pulling out of the historic Paris climate accord at COP27 and made these promises, it remains questionable whether these promises will be honored.

Overuse of US natural resources and ecological destruction caused serious economic losses

The huge volume of planet-heating gases pumped out by the US, the largest historical emitter, has caused such harm to others, mostly poor, according to a recent evaluation report “National attribution of historical climate damages."

Developing countries put forward a proposal at last year’s climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, for a financing mechanism for loss and damage.

Related News

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

Why the US is cozying up to Pakistan once more

It didn’t advance, however, because countries such as the US didn’t support the measure, citing fears that it would be held legally liable for the damage caused by its voracious appetite for fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and gas.

  • The US should transform its climate pledge into action

The United States has always been a "self-serving" country

Japan recently announced that excessive organic fluorides were detected in the wastewater discharged from the US Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. The people of Yokosuka City lodged strong protests against the US military in this regard. As of now, the US military has not given any reason for this. But this is not the first time that the US military in Japan has discharged toxins, which once again makes it clear that American soldiers based in Japan have caused huge damage to the local environment. The United States has always been a "self-serving" country. As the world's largest solid waste exporting country and per capita plastic consumer, the United States has so far not ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and has long used developing countries with insufficient treatment capacity as the final disposal site for plastic waste. Currently, US companies are still illegally exporting hazardous e-waste to developing countries.

  • The US should transform its climate pledge into action

Prospects for the US to meet climate pledges unpredictable

At COP27, the issue of whether developed countries, led by the United States, will provide climate compensation to developing countries for "loss and damage" was on the agenda for the first time but ultimately did not receive a response from the United States. The US midterm elections were held on November 8, coinciding with COP27, and the outcome of this election will have a significant impact on the US commitment to climate finance and emissions reductions. US climate finance, especially on a larger scale, requires approval by the US Congress. But the US has been talking a lot but doing very little for the past decade or so.

As an example, during the 2015 Paris Agreement negotiations, the Obama administration proposed a Green Climate Fund, announcing a $3 billion injection. By the time Obama left office, only $1 billion of the $3 billion had been delivered, with the remaining $2 billion falling to the Biden administration. The Trump administration, between the Obama and Biden administrations, did nothing in this regard. This was because Congress had not approved such massive climate funding.

At the same time, the ability to meet its emissions reduction commitments is an important element of US climate action. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 involves a number of projects on climate and low-carbon development, but the extent to which the bill will drive US emissions reductions is, as always, difficult to predict.

In short, many countries are waiting for the US to act first, and if the US cannot deliver on their promises, it is only natural that other countries will not keep them either.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • United States
  • COP27
  • Climate change
  • COP26
  • Climate crisis
William Wilkes

William Wilkes

International relations researcher in Germany

Most Read

All
Declassified: CIA’s covert Ukraine invasion plan

Declassified: CIA’s covert Ukraine invasion plan

  • Opinion
  • 16 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Palestine will not be liberated by UN reports, but by pursuing a different strategic horizon: one that does not beg for recognition. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Economy of Genocide: Albanese's report accuses, but doesn't dismantle system

  • Opinion
  • 18 Aug 2025
Those in Occupied Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria – directly affected by Israeli occupation and apartheid – can claim their right to armed struggle under a series of UN resolutions. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Resistance and regime change in occupied Palestine

  • Opinion
  • 17 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
The Czech Republic is becoming a 'model' of protests in Europe

The Czech Republic is becoming a 'model' of protests in Europe

Police brutality in the US; a persistent problem

Police brutality in the US; a persistent problem

The polarized opposition of bipartisan politics and the division of American society are like two sides of the same coin, any discussion around public policy will only end up in the trap of political struggle.

Behind the freedom to bear arms

Qatar World Cup: Stop politicizing sports, Give football back to green

Qatar World Cup: Stop politicizing sports, Give football back to green

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS