President Biden announced plans Tuesday to double the funding the United States provides each year to help developing nations cope with the ravages of climate change and build greener economies.

Speaking at the United Nations, Biden framed the move as part of a broader return to multilateralism, saying the world must work together to combat daunting challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic, trade disputes and a rapidly warming planet.

Biden said he intends to work with Congress to boost the U.S. annual contribution to the problem to $11.4 billion, an amount he said is necessary “to support the countries and people that will be hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help them adapt.”

The new pledge aims to ease the distrust and anger among many small, developing nations who have done little to cause global warming but often have been hardest hit by its impacts. That rift has eroded the sense of unity that will be necessary at high-profile U.N. climate talks in Scotland in the fall, known as COP26, where world leaders face pressure to embrace a detailed global strategy to slow the Earth’s warming.

Guest post from The Washington Post