Countries Agree to Increase Climate Budget

Last week, countries worldwide agreed to increase the United Nations (UN) climate body’s budget by 10% for the next two years, Reuters reported. The budget, approved by nearly 200 countries, includes the stipulation that China increase its contribution following the U.S. cutting its contributions. China, the world’s second-biggest economy, would cover 20% of the new budget, up from 15% previously.

The U.S., the world’s largest economy, was assigned 22%. Earlier this year, though, President Donald Trump quit the UN Paris climate agreement and halted international climate funding. Bloomberg Philanthropies has pledged to cover the U.S. contribution to the UN budget. The U.S. also did not attend the UN climate talks last week in Bonn, Germany where the budget was approved.

Meanwhile, the UN shared a report that Asian is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This rate of warming—which shows no signs of stopping— is leading to devastating consequences and no country is exempt from the consequences. The WMO report said that Asia is warming twice as fast as global averages because of its large landmass, explaining that temperatures over land increase more quickly than those over sea.

The oceans around Asia are also experiencing temperature increases with surface temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans reaching record levels in 2024.