U.S. details $6 billion in pledges for climate, ocean investments

[March 04, 2023]   By Milagro Vallecillos and Brendan O'Boyle
 
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday gave details on $6 billion in funding commitments around the world to protect oceans and fight climate change.  

U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry speaks during the 2023 Our Ocean Conference, in Panama City, Panama March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Aris Martinez

The amount was first announced Thursday by Washington's climate envoy John Kerry at an oceans conference in Panama and encompasses 77 different commitments, the U.S. State Department said in a press release on Friday.

The total includes some $3 billion in climate resilience and climate research commitments that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last year, according to the State Department.

The commitments also include more than $665 million for sustainable fisheries and more than $200 million tackling marine pollution.

"The climate crisis and the ocean crisis are one and the same. We cannot fully address one without the other," Kerry said Thursday at the "Our Ocean 2023" conference, which brought together private and public sector representatives from over 190 countries.

Of the 77 commitments, 30 are directed at climate change, amounting to about $5 billion of the total.

Some of the pledges still require authorization by the U.S. Congress.

Washington's announcement comes alongside the European Union's announcement Thursday of commitments worth 816.5 million euros ($867.45 million).

(Reporting by Milagro Vallecillos in Panama City and Brendan O'Boyle in Mexico City; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.