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| U.S. Proposes Doubling Spending on Climate-Change Adaptation | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LE BOURGET, France — In an effort to help smooth the passage of a sweeping new climate accord here later this week, Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Wednesday a proposal to double its grant-based public finance for climate-change adaptation by 2020 to $860 million, from $430 million. | |
| Mr. Kerry’s announcement came as the momentum toward a deal appeared to have hit a momentary snag. Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister who is presiding over the talks, delayed by two hours a self-imposed 1 p.m. deadline to release a new draft of the international agreement that negotiators here have been haggling over for more than a week now. Mr. Kerry oversees the American negotiating team, which is led by Todd D. Stern, the United States special envoy for climate change. | |
| President Obama spoke by phone from Washington this week to President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, a sign of the high-level negotiations going on behind the scenes. | |
| Mr. Kerry, in his first big speech to the conference, spoke in animated tones that seemed as much addressed to skeptical Americans as to the delegates here. | |
| “I know there are still a few who insist that climate change is one big hoax, even a political conspiracy,” Mr. Kerry said. “These people are so out of touch with science that they believe rising sea levels don’t matter because in their view the extra water is going to just spill over the sides of a flat earth. They’re wrong obviously.” | |
| He added: “For those who may still question the 97 percent of peer-reviewed studies on climate change, let me just underscore: You don’t need to be a scientist to know that the earth is round, that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and that gravity is the reason that objects fall to the ground.” | |
| The issue of money has been a crucial sticking point in the talks, as poor countries demand that rich countries open up their wallets to help pay for them to adapt to the ravages of climate change, such as increased floods and droughts. | |
| The promise comes on top of an announcement last week of the creation of a large new public-private coalition that would increase spending by 20 governments on clean energy research and development from $5 billion to $10 billion annually over five years. That agreement also includes an investment on such research of $2 billion over eight years from a group of 28 investors. | |
| At the last major United Nations climate conference, in Copenhagen in 2009, Mr. Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, sought to push the talks forward with a surprise announcement that rich countries would mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 to help poor countries mitigate and adapt to the ravages of climate change. | At the last major United Nations climate conference, in Copenhagen in 2009, Mr. Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, sought to push the talks forward with a surprise announcement that rich countries would mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 to help poor countries mitigate and adapt to the ravages of climate change. |
| The new money announced by Mr. Kerry would be meant to count toward that $100 billion — but the relatively small amount would not come close to meeting the demands of developing nations. | The new money announced by Mr. Kerry would be meant to count toward that $100 billion — but the relatively small amount would not come close to meeting the demands of developing nations. |
| At the time that Mrs. Clinton made the pledge, the idea was that the $100 billion would come from a mix of public funds and private investment. But developing countries, led by India, have demanded that rich countries, particularly the United States, commit to spending that money from public coffers. | At the time that Mrs. Clinton made the pledge, the idea was that the $100 billion would come from a mix of public funds and private investment. But developing countries, led by India, have demanded that rich countries, particularly the United States, commit to spending that money from public coffers. |
| Such a proposal is largely dead on arrival in Congress. Last year, President Obama pledged that the United States would spend $3 billion over five years to help meet that goal, but already, Republicans in Congress are looking to block the first $500 million installment of that payment. | Such a proposal is largely dead on arrival in Congress. Last year, President Obama pledged that the United States would spend $3 billion over five years to help meet that goal, but already, Republicans in Congress are looking to block the first $500 million installment of that payment. |
| The money pledged by Mr. Kerry would also be subject to Congressional approval — some of it would be requested through the State Department’s program for foreign aid, the United States Agency for International Development, while other portions would move through the Treasury budget. But the new money would represent a trifecta of unpopular issues in the Republican-majority Congress — new government spending, climate change and foreign aid. | The money pledged by Mr. Kerry would also be subject to Congressional approval — some of it would be requested through the State Department’s program for foreign aid, the United States Agency for International Development, while other portions would move through the Treasury budget. But the new money would represent a trifecta of unpopular issues in the Republican-majority Congress — new government spending, climate change and foreign aid. |
| “In vulnerable countries where the U.S. has a clear direct strategic interest, this is helping insure against the increasing threats posed by change patterns — so they don’t lead to destabilization and direct costs and consequences,” said an adviser to Mr. Kerry, who spoke on condition of anonymity before the announcement because it had not yet been made public. | |
| “When there are terrible events in the world driven by climate change, the U.S. steps in because that is our rightful role,” the adviser added. “We spend a large amount of money cleaning up after disasters. Smart targeted investments in adaptation can pay off.” | |
| But it is unclear whether Mr. Kerry’s announcement will help ease the current standoffs on finance in the negotiations. In 2009, despite Mrs. Clinton’s announcement of a far bigger sum of money, the Copenhagen talks dissolved in acrimony and did not yield a legally binding agreement. | But it is unclear whether Mr. Kerry’s announcement will help ease the current standoffs on finance in the negotiations. In 2009, despite Mrs. Clinton’s announcement of a far bigger sum of money, the Copenhagen talks dissolved in acrimony and did not yield a legally binding agreement. |
| Mr. Kerry made a fierce call for action: “Unless the global community takes bold steps now to transition away from a high-carbon economy, we are facing unthinkable harm to our habitat, our infrastructure, our food production, our water supplies and, potentially, to life itself,” he said, his voice rising. | |
| “Make no mistake,” he added. “If a global community cannot come together and refuses to rise to this challenge, if we continue to allow calculated obstruction to derail the urgency of this moment, we will be liable for a collective moral failure of historic consequence.” |