Thanks to December’s Paris climate accord, taxpayers just shelled out half a billion dollars toward the UN’s Green Climate Fund, the stated purpose of which is numbing the effects of climate change. As astronomical as that number is — particularly when the U.S. adds far more than that to the national debt every day — it represents only one sixth of what Barack Obama has promised to provide. The State Department lauded the transaction, saying “the United States continues to demonstrate leadership in the international climate arena. This grant is the first step toward meeting the president’s commitment of $3 billion to the GCF and shows that the United States stands squarely behind our international climate commitments.”

Leadership? Not exactly — and that goes for both parties. This wasteful expenditure could have been averted with a little forward thinking, which isn’t exactly a Republican strong suit. The Hill reports, “The GOP has repeatedly pledged to block any funds and had hoped that this might derail last year’s international climate change deal in Paris. Last year’s omnibus spending bill from Congress did not appropriate any money for the Green Climate Fund, but it also did not specifically prohibit State from using any of its other money for the fund [emphasis added].” In other words, strategy fell to the back burner. Again. Of course, that omnibus is chalk full of inane funding measures, so the fact it fails to block funding for the UN climate accord isn’t all that surprising. It is, however, deeply disappointing.