US to ‘make good’ on climate finance pledges: Kerry

The United States will "make good" on financial commitments to developing countries struggling with climate change, top US climate envoy John Kerry told a summit of world leaders on Monday.

Kerry said the United States was "proud to be back" in the global climate discussion, just days after President Joe Biden signed an order to re-enter the 2015 Paris Agreement after the country quit the climate treaty under former President Donald Trump.

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Biden's government "also intends to make significant investments in climate action" both domestically and abroad, Kerry told the virtual Climate Adaptation Summit, hosted by the Netherlands.

He did not give details about those investments, but promised Washington would soon announce a new target for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions that "meets the urgency of the challenge".

"We intend to make good on our climate finance pledge," he said.

The United States has delivered only $1 billion of the $3 billion it pledged under former President Barack Obama to the UN Green Climate Fund, set up to help vulnerable countries transition to clean energy.

Kerry was joined at the summit by China's Deputy Prime Minister Han Zheng, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and others. Leaders at Monday's summit, which aims to help countries build resilience against climate change, stressed the importance of having Washington back at the table.

"To tackle this great challenge we need all hands on deck, and certainly the US is so critical for success," said IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva.