Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for Mother Jones, Erin Graham explains that what's really needed to fight climate change is funding, something President Trump won't support. 

· How can donors support efforts to fight climate change? How much funding is needed to really make an impact?

· Read more about funding the fight against climate change.

Under the 2015 Paris climate accord, 195 national governments committed to curbing carbon emissions to mitigate climate change. After the Trump administration decided in 2017 to withdraw the United States from the agreement, American states, cities, and companies stepped forward, saying they would continue efforts to reduce emissions and meet the requirements of the global agreement.

Although no substitute for a reasonable national climate policy, these decentralized efforts are welcome. A newly-released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlines the dire consequences if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise on their current path: By 2040, scientists expect that extreme weather—like hurricanes, heatwaves, and droughts—will be normal, food and water shortages will affect hundreds of millions of people, and vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever will spread to new regions. The United States remains the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world after China, with among the highest emissions per capita. Decentralized efforts, like the recent law committing California to obtaining all its electricity from clean energy sources by 2045, are essential to reducing US emissions.

But Trump’s Paris withdrawal creates another problem too: A massive gap between the money needed to address climate change and available funds. In Paris, developed countries called the need to ramp up climate finance for developing countries “urgent,” and reaffirmed a commitment to mobilize $100 billion annually from public and private sources. Former US President Barack Obama pledged an initial $3 billion to one of the funds that distributes climate finance—money to help reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts—but delivered only $1 billion before he left office, and Trump decided not to contribute any. Funding cuts supported by the Trump administration and the Republican majority in Congress have now produced a gaping hole in available resources.

Read the full article about fighting climate change by Erin Graham at Mother Jones.