Michael Bloomberg will account for the Trump administration's lack of support for the Paris Agreement

(Image credit: Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

published 22 April 2019

Michael Bloomberg would like to wish everyone a happy Earth Day.

When the billionaire businessman and former New York City mayor announced in March that he was not launching a presidential campaign, he said that he would instead use his time to fight climate change. So far, he's following through — with his pocketbook, at least.

Bloomberg said on Monday that he is donating $5.5 million to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to "make up the funding gap" created by the Trump administration's decision to contribute just $2.5 million last year, and are expected do so again this year. That total falls short of the $15 million the Obama administration committed over that span after the U.S. signed off on the Paris Agreement on climate change, which the current White House plans to withdraw from in 2020.

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This is the second straight year in which Bloomberg has made up the gap — last year he donated $4.5 million. A statement from Bloomberg Philanthropies said Bloomberg will provide additional funding should the U.S. fall short again in 2020.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.