'Immediate Withdrawal': US Exits Green Climate Fund, Trump's Treasury Secy Bessent Announces

In alignment with the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The US Department of the Treasury has announced the United States’ immediate withdrawal from the Green Climate Fund.

“Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

The Trump administration said it is focused on promoting affordable and reliable energy sources, describing them as essential for economic growth and reducing poverty.

Effective immediately, the United States is withdrawing from @theGCF.

Our nation will no longer fund

radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction.

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) January 8, 2026

The GCF was established to supplement the objectives of the UNFCCC, and continued participation in the GCF has been determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump Administration’s priorities and goals.

This comes after US President Donald Trump announced that he planed to withdraw the US from 66 United Nations and international organisations, including major forums for cooperation on climate change, peace and democracy.

In a presidential memorandum shared by the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump said that the decision came after a review of which “organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States”.

The changes would see the US cease participation and also cut all funding to the affected entities, Trump added.

The list released by the White House named 35 non-UN organisations, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In addition, the White House said it was withdrawing from 31 UN entities, including the UN’s top climate change treaty body, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Democracy Fund and the top UN entity working on maternal and child health, the UNFPA.