US FEMA Establishes 11 Trillion Won Climate Response Fund

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] To financially support the climate change response, a major campaign pledge of U.S. President Joe Biden, the U.S. government is set to establish a climate response fund.

On the 25th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is expected to raise $10 billion (approximately 11 trillion won) for the climate response fund. The secured funds will be used for the prevention and relief of various natural disasters caused by climate change, such as typhoons, floods, and wildfires.

The establishment of the climate change response fund is being led by FEMA, which has played a control tower role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. FEMA is also considering reallocating the budget related to COVID-19 eradication to the climate response fund.

Daniel Karnievsky, former Deputy Administrator of FEMA and Executive Director at the global consulting firm Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), said, "It appears that a plan to reallocate part of the COVID-19 related budget to the climate response fund will also be pursued."

This decision allows for rapid project implementation without a separate congressional approval process, and the newspaper reported that it does not mean a reduction in disaster funds allocated for COVID-19 relief.

NYT also cited a FEMA official saying that $3.7 billion will be initially invested in climate-related infrastructure and community building. In this process, they are also exploring ways to reallocate the federal government's disaster fund reserves as necessary funding.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.