Bloomberg donates $5.5 million to fill in Paris agreement gap

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will donate $5.5 million to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, the second year in a row he has provided funding to make up for lapsed commitments under the Trump administration.

Bloomberg, who earlier decided against running for the White House, used Earth Day to announce that he would offer support for the secretariat’s operations. The program helps countries meet carbon emission reduction commitments under the landmark 2015 Paris climate deal, a global deal negotiated by the Obama administration that President Trump rejected.

{mosads}Trump announced in 2017 that he plans to pull the U.S. out of the agreement, arguing it was a bad deal.

The U.S. committed $15 million over two years to the program under former President Obama, but only transferred $2.5 million last year. It was expected to provide another $2.5 million this year.

This is the second year Bloomberg has donated millions to the program. Last year he donated $4.5 million.

“The United States made a promise to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement – and if the federal government won’t hold up our end of the deal, then the American people must,” Bloomberg, the U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy for climate action, said in a statement.

“As mayors, governors, business leaders, and private citizens across the country work to ensure that we meet our climate targets, our foundation will again cover the difference in federal funding to the United Nations. Together, we’re sending a loud, clear message to the rest of the world: regardless of what’s happening in Washington, we’re in this fight with you,” he said.

Bloomberg’s donation comes after a number of international scientific reports, including a handful from the U.N., have warned of the irreversible effects of climate change.

House Democrats are currently working on passing a bill that would bind the U.S. to the carbon emissions cutting commitments made under the Paris climate accord. If it passes the House it is still expected to receive pushback in the Republican-led Senate.