Climate fund approves $1 billion for green projects in poor countries

German Minister of the Environment Svenja Schulze, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki attended the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, which included discussing the future of funding for the Green Climate Fund, in Berlin, Germany, 19 June 2018. EPA/Carsten Koall / POOL

BERLIN - Officials overseeing a U.N.-backed fund to help poor countries tackle climate change have approved more than $1 billion in new investments after a four-day meeting in Bahrain.

The Green Climate Fund said Sunday that the meeting approved 19 new projects, including a program to protect freshwater resources in Bahrain.

Environmentalists had argued the Gulf nation should pay for the project itself using money it has made off its vast reserves of oil and gas.

Officials also agreed to start seeking new money for the fund next year. President Donald Trump's decision to withhold $2 billion of the $3 billion pledged by predecessor Barack Obama has contributed to a shortfall in its projected assets.

The South Korea-based fund is considered a key vehicle for climate-related development programs.