Michael Bloomberg to pay $4.5 million to fulfil US commitment to Paris climate deal

The former mayor of New York City and billionaire Michael Bloomberg on Sunday, April 22, pledged to grant a cheque of $4.5 million to fulfill the United States of America's financial commitment to the Paris Peace Accord.

Bloomberg, 76, said on CBS News's 'Face the Nation' that if the government of the US was not doing it, it was others' responsibility to complete the task.

Bloomberg said he was able to fulfil the pledge and would send the accord the money that the US had promised. "I'm going to send them a check for the monies that America had promised to the organization as though they got it from the federal government," Bloomberg said.

When asked whether he planned to fund the Paris climate agreement's mission in 2019, Bloomberg, one of the top 10 richest persons on this planet, said he hoped US President Donald Trump would change his opinion on the accord by then.

Bloomberg took a slight dig at Trump's fickle-mindedness, saying the latter is "known to change his mind". He said Trump should do the same over the climate deal and acknowledge the problem. He said Trump should understand that America is part of the problem as well as the solution and should chip in and help the planet avert a disaster.

The Paris climate accord was struck exactly two years ago under the then Barack Obama administration in the US and saw 195 countries committing to reduce carbon emissions to slow down a threatening climate change.

However, Trump, who took over in 2017, said he was against the deal as he thought it was putting unfair burdens on the US while allowing countries like China and India to broaden their use of fossil fuels. His administration eventually pulled out of the pact in June 2017.

Bloomberg, whose name appeared frequently as a possible candidate to run for the American presidency in the past, has been a strong advocate of the Paris climate deal. Along with California's Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, Bloomberg is leading a coalition of American states, cities, businesses and universities that have pledged to meet the USA's responsibilities under the agreement which renewed the hopes over a united fight against the menace of climate change the world over.