U.S. Role in International Climate Finance

This December 2010 report from the Center for American Progress and the Alliance for Climate Protection makes the case for a U.S. leadership role in helping developing countries deal with the threat of climate change. It calls for "new international investments in clean energy technologies, energy efficiency, tropical forest conservation and climate adaptation." Among the benefits are increased U.S. competitiveness with China, helping U.S. companies capture a larger share of the $2 trillion global clean energy market, reduced "climate-related national security threats" stemming, for example from "severe floods and droughts in Pakistan and the Middle East, closer relationships with major emerging economies such as Indonesia, India, and Brazil, reduce climate impacts in the U.S. (such as expenditures on coastal infrastructure); and, last but not least, "improved energy security and lower energy prices for traditional fuels."