•  ⁠Private sector unlikely to fully replace lost public funding, Ed Carr of Stockholm Environment Institute says
• Washington aims ‘to undermine, remove data and evidence from policy conversations,’ he adds

ISTANBUL

The Trump administration’s retreat from global climate commitments is already punching holes in international efforts to combat climate change, creating funding gaps that other governments and private investors are unlikely to fill, a senior climate policy expert warned.

Ed Carr, director of the US office at the Stockholm Environment Institute, told Anadolu that Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and sweeping cuts to climate-related programs are reverberating across the multilateral system.

“The US was a very large part of the funding for climate action around the world,” Carr told Anadolu. “That is something this administration controls. The Trump administration clearly is not going to spend money on this in any significant way, and that’s going to create huge gaps.”

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed climate change as a “hoax” and more recently a “fraud,” moved swiftly after returning to office to dismantle US participation in international climate frameworks.

On his first day in office last January, Trump initiated the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, with the exit taking effect this month. The administration has since pulled out of additional international platforms, sharply reducing US contributions to global climate finance and scientific cooperation.

Carr said the impact is already visible inside the UN system.

He said that the World Meteorological Organization is expected to cut a significant number of staff positions, while the United Nations Environment Program is likely to face similar staff reductions and reductions in its climate-related work.

Can the private sector fill the gap?

Private sector actors and financial institutions are trying to step in with investments that are both profitable and sustainable, especially to help fill gaps in global climate finance and support mitigation and adaptation efforts.

However, Carr cautioned against assuming they can replace public funding at scale.

He cautioned that expectations for private sector contributions are likely overly optimistic, given the scale of disruption caused by the US withdrawal.

Carr also pointed to the administration’s stance toward climate science itself, including its relationship with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Following the US withdrawal from climate agreements, the government can instruct federally employed American scientists not to attend IPCC meetings, weakening both US participation and the panel’s global scientific capacity.

He described the pattern as part of a broader effort to marginalize evidence-based policymaking.

The aim, Carr said, is “to undermine or remove data and evidence from policy conversations and from political conversations.”

Scientists press on, despite pressure

Despite the political shift, Carr said climate scientists are responding in different ways – some struggling with the uncertainty, others doubling down on their work.

He also stressed that the administration’s approach does not reflect public opinion in the US.

"This administration might not think it's important, but this administration does not speak for the majority of Americans on this topic,” he said. “The majority of Americans think that climate change is an important issue and that we should be working on addressing it.”

Without renewed public investment, however, Carr warned that global climate action risks slowing at a critical moment – with consequences that extend far beyond Washington.