Summary: In recent decades, nations have entered into an increasing number of agreements to address environmental concerns, both regional and global. Since 1972, when more than 130 countries took part in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, the number of such agreements in which the United State participates or in which it has a significant interest has swelled from fewer than 50 to more than 170. Accompanying the rise in the number of international agreements has been an increase in spending by the world community to deal with transboundary environmental issues. Members of Congress have raised concerns about the absence of consolidated budget information on the funding of international environmental activities by the federal government. This report discusses the overall level of federal funding for international environmental activities, including specific programs, treaty negotiations, information exchanges, conferences, and research. GAO identifies (1) funding by individual federal agencies and (2) federal financial support for the environmental programs and activities of the United Nations, the World Bank, and other multilateral financial institutions.
