The United States wants to provide $500 million as a contribution to a U.N. climate fund aimed at helping developing nations cope with climate change problems, according to a budget proposal to Congress unveiled Monday.

The money, if approved, would mark the first installment of a total of $3 billion that the U.S. pledged in November to contribute to the Green Climate Fund by the end of 2018. The GCF's secretariat is based in South Korea's Songdo, west of Seoul.

About 20 countries have pledged a total of $9.4 billion to the GCF.

Launched in late 2010, the GCF is a U.N organization whose main objective is to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle global warming and other problems related to climate change. (Yonhap)