Michael Bloomberg, the former Democratic mayor of New York City, announced that he plans to pump an additional $500 million of his own wealth into phasing out the use of fossil fuels in the U.S.
The Beyond Carbon campaign intends to close all operational coal plants and block the construction of all new gas plants in the U.S. by 2030, according to a press release from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The green initiative also plans to cut existing gas use in half and accelerate the clean-energy transition to have renewables account for 80 percent of total electricity generation by the end of the decade.
“Today marks a new chapter in the Beyond Carbon campaign, as we move to finish the job,” Bloomberg said on Wednesday. “By working with our partners across the country, we hope to transform the way we power America by moving beyond fossil fuels and replacing them with renewable energy. I look forward to the progress we’ll make together.”
Bloomberg, who serves as the United Nations’ special envoy on climate ambition and solutions, launched Beyond Carbon in 2019 with an initial commitment of $500 million to combat climate change. His investments toward the effort now total $1 billion.
Bloomberg made the latest announcement at the U.N. General Assembly’s annual summit in New York this week.
In its press release, the philanthropic organization said its namesake founder has thus far helped close just over 70 percent of all remaining U.S. coal plants, or 372 out of 530 factories. Their closure has led to a substantial, over 80 percent reduction of all emissions in the U.S. since 2010, Bloomberg noted.
Beyond Carbon will also finance the work of many environmental groups in the U.S., such as Earthjustice, Hip Hop Caucus, Sierra Club, the Rocky Mountain Institute, League of Conservation Voters, Advanced Energy United, and Coalfield Development to prioritize clean-energy sources over fossil fuels.
The former 2020 presidential candidate, with a net worth of $96.3 billion, has been extremely active in funding climate-change advocacy, education, and the Democratic National Committee, among other causes.