The U.S. pledged billions to fight climate change. Then came the Ukraine war

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/05/14/ [login to see] /the-u-s-pledged-billions-to-fight-climate-change-then-came-the-ukraine-war
The United States owes billions of dollars in climate funding to developing countries. But the war in Ukraine is delaying payments and slowing down U.S. progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that has leaders in low-lying and less wealthy nations feeling frustrated and forgotten.

"Effectively, the U.S. owes the rest a climate debt that needs to be paid," says Mohamed Adow, the leader of PowerShift Africa, a coalition that advocates for climate policies across the continent. "Our continent is effectively on the front line, and we are paying for the harms [of] these climate pollutants."

In 2021, the U.S. promised to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions this decade, and send long-overdue money to help developing countries transition to cleaner energy and protect residents from rising seas, heat waves, food instability and other dangerous climate effects.

If the U.S. follows through, it's still possible to keep global temperatures from rising catastrophically and prevent tens of millions of unnecessary deaths, according to scientists and economists.