Australia will no longer contribute to major UN climate change fund

Australia will no longer contribute to a major United Nations fund used to combat climate change.

Following previous promises by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to no longer “tip money into that big climate fund,” the country made its final $19 million contribution in December, according to budget documents released today and reviewed by Climate Home News.

{mosads}The climate fund Morrison was referring to, the Green Climate Fund, was a basis for the Paris Climate Accord, with wealthier countries agreeing to contribute to projects that help developing nations lower their greenhouse gas emissions.

Australia has given $187 million to the fund since 2015, which has already been depleted of about half of its original $10 billion in funding. The fund may begin to seek contributions from developing nations.

Oxfam Australia criticized Morrison’s decision.

“We have entered an era of brutal climate damage, fueled by the reckless inaction of developed countries,” the organization said in a press release.

Emissions in the country have grown nearly 1 percent over the last year, despite commitments from the prime minister to hit the country’s environmental regulations targets.

Morrison, who became prime minister in August, has stopped short of saying he will pull Australia from the Paris accord — something many conservative lawmakers in his country have championed.