Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if elected he would renege on a $3 billion US pledge to a global fund meant to help developing countries cut emissions and adapt to climate change.
The pledge was announced by Vice President Kamala Harris this month at the COP28 climate summit, although it is subject to the politically divided US Congress, which must authorise the release of funds.
Trump, who has made attacking the administration of President Joe Biden's investments in renewable energy a core part of his campaign message, said he was opposed to what he called "climate reparations" to other countries.
A campaign aide confirmed that Trump was referring to the $3 billion US pledge to the Green Climate Fund.
"When I am back in office all climate reparation payments will be cancelled immediately," Trump said at a campaign event in Coralville, Iowa, adding he would seek to "claw back" any payments made by the Biden administration.
Trump leads his rivals for the Republican nomination by nearly 50 percentage points in national opinion polls, meaning he is likely to face Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, in the November 2024 election.
Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war's end, a source close to the group said on Thursday, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed scores more people.
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear programme by up to two years, suggesting the US military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.
Hundreds of firefighters battled a blaze Thursday on Crete island, which burnt swathes of forest and olive groves and forced the evacuation of over 1,000 people, officials said, underscoring the region's vulnerability to destructive wildfires.
Five people were injured, including a seven-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl, in a Russian attack on the southern Ukraine port of Odesa overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday.