The US has pledged to contribute $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), according to today’s announcements by US Vice President Kamala Harris at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.

The fund, created in 2010, is the largest international fund for climate change action and has accumulated capital commitments of more than $20 billion. This latest commitment by Washington, which sources told Reuters earlier, will be in addition to the $2 billion the US has given to the fund.

Washington’s commitment was made official by Harris in pre-released excerpts from her speech at COP28.

“Today, I’m proud to announce that we’re moving forward with a new $3 billion commitment to the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries access the capital they need to invest in resilient, clean energy and nature-based solutions ,” reads excerpts from Harris’ speech.

The Fund’s coordinators said in October that the current, second round of contributions has raised about $9.3 billion in commitments to finance projects in countries vulnerable to climate change from 2024 to 2027.

Even at these amounts, pledges so far represent a tiny fraction of the roughly $250 billion that developing countries will need each year through 2030 to adapt to global warming, according to the United Nations.

A US official said the vice president will tell COP28 participants that the world needs to “make sure everyone is at the table”. Harris, representing the US at COP28 in place of President Joe Biden, is part of the US delegation that also includes Special Climate Envoy John Kerry and dozens of other officials.

“It’s important for the president and vice president to make sure that a leader from the US went to the COP,” the official said, adding that Harris wants to “make sure we show the world the progress we’ve made in the US.”