The global transition to a low-carbon economy needs $78 trillion in funding by 2050, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday.
Yellen said the world needs $3 trillion a year in funding to reach the goal of net-zero global carbon emissions, a top priority for the Biden administration. according to To contribute to this, Yellen pledged to fund environmental efforts in developing countries through multilateral development banks and develop “clean energy technologies.” (Related: Treasury creates new climate secretary position, expands climate change efforts)
“The transition will require at least $3 trillion in new capital from a variety of sources each year between now and 2050,” Yellen said in her speech. “This can be used to support the path to sustainable and inclusive growth, including in countries that have historically received less investment.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 9: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a House Financial Services Committee hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 9, 2024. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In 2022, the global economy will commit a record $116 billion to climate change efforts in developing countries, which Yellen called “the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century” in her speech.
“Failing to tackle climate change and the loss of nature and biodiversity is not just bad environmental policy,” Yellen said in her speech. “It is bad economic policy.”
In her speech, Yellen touted the Biden administration's efforts to advance such environmental protections to achieve “climate goals.” (Related: Kamala Harris is a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal and is currently running for president.)
“At home, we are enacting the Beat Inflation Act, the most significant climate change bill in American history,” Yellen said in her speech. “This bill will unlock hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in clean energy technologies and industry, helping us meet our climate goals and spur economic growth.”
The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $370 billion to subsidize climate change initiatives such as electric vehicles and other technologies that are essential to President Joe Biden's environmental agenda.
“Climate change is literally an existential threat to our country and our world,” Biden said. speech Tackling climate change in July 2022. “As president, I'm going to use my executive power to fight climate. I'm going to fight the climate crisis that Congress has failed to act on, despite the great actions of Congress.” (Related article: Biden's climate change bill falls short of goal of revitalizing American manufacturing)
In her speech, Yellen argued that such climate change measures should be implemented “beyond borders.”
“Our ambition at home is matched by our ambition abroad,” Yellen said in her speech. “We know we can achieve our climate and economic goals only if we also lead efforts well beyond our borders — from reducing global emissions to building adaptation and resilience, from strengthening markets to strengthening supply chains.”
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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