US: Bloomberg donates $64M to clean energy efforts

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

The billionaire former mayor of New York will donate $64 million to environmental groups to help clean energy efforts, Bloomberg Philanthropies said in a statement Wednesday.

The donation by Michael Bloomberg will go to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign and other organizations.

"Pollution from coal-fired power plants is the largest source of carbon emissions and kills 7,500 Americans annually, down from 13,000 when the Beyond Coal campaign began expanding in 2011 through support from Bloomberg," the statement said.

The donation was announced a day after the administration of President Donald said it would propose a repeal of former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan that sought to combat climate change.

The billionaire business mogul has invested more than $100 million to the Beyond Coal campaign since Bloomberg Philanthropies joined forces with environmental group in 2011 and nearly 50 percent of coal-fired power plants in the U.S. have since retired while deaths related to coal pollution have declined 42 percent, the statement said.

"Without any federal regulations on carbon emissions, those groups have combined with market forces to close half the nation’s coal-fired power plants over the past six years — and with this new grant, we aim to reach 60 percent by the end of 2020," Bloomberg said in the statement.