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U.S. withdraws from Korea-headquartered Green Climate Fund

Published: 09 Jan. 2026, 08:59 Updated: 09 Jan. 2026, 12:35

President Donald Trump makes a face as he talks about weightlifting during remarks to House Republican lawmakers at their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

The United States has withdrawn from a Korea-based international institution on climate change, the Treasury Department said Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to exit dozens of global organizations that he said are "contrary" to U.S. interests.

The department said it has notified the Green Climate Fund (GCF) that the United States would withdraw from the fund and step down from its seat on the GCF board, "effective immediately," in line with the Trump administration's decision to leave the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Headquartered in Incheon, west of Seoul, the GCF was formed in 2010 under the UNFCCCto help developing countries with climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

"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," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent was quoted as saying in a press release.

The department added that continued participation in the GCF was determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump administration's priorities and goals.

The department pointed out that the Trump administration is committed to advancing all affordable and reliable sources of energy, which it said are fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a memorandum to withdraw the U.S. from 66 international organizations, agencies and commissions, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio said were identified as part of the Trump Administration's review of "wasteful," "ineffective" and "harmful" international organizations.

Yonhap