Speeches Shim
“We can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change. This is a global, existential crisis, and we’ll all suffer the consequences if we fail.”
President Joe Biden
Climate change is a threat that sees no borders and can harm us all. Around the world, temperatures and sea levels are rising. From more intense forest fires in California to more prolonged droughts in the Horn of Africa to recurring typhoons in Southeast Asia—much of the world is already experiencing the negative impacts of a changing climate.
Addressing the climate crisis must be a collective effort. The United States is committed to renewing our strong alliance in the effort to deal with the climate crisis and cooperating with our global partners to strengthen our climate ambition.
Climate change is not just an existential threat, it is currently threatening development progress and exacerbating global inequities; increasing water and food scarcity, the need for humanitarian assistance, and displacement; and contributing to conflict.
USAID plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and addressing its impacts by partnering with more than 45 countries to implement ambitious emissions reduction measures, protect critical ecosystems, transition to renewable energy, build resilience against the impacts of climate change, and promote the flow of capital toward climate-positive investments. We are also integrating climate considerations across USAID’s portfolio to protect development progress.
We have a narrow moment to pursue action in order to protect our environment and to seize the opportunity that tackling climate change presents. Together we can make a difference for a healthier and more prosperous planet.
Key Issues
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Energy
Supporting the transition to renewable energy and improving energy efficiency to reduce emissions and improve energy access.
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Forests
Reducing emissions by combating deforestation and improving conservation and management of carbon-rich forests and landscapes.
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Safety
Helping communities and countries better prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related disasters.
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Food
Strengthening global food and nutrition security by advancing climate-smart agriculture and increased resilience to droughts, rising temperatures, and changing rainfall patterns.
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Water
Helping people and economies deliver climate-resilient drinking water and sanitation, and manage water resources to cope with growing scarcity. And protecting our oceans by limiting climate impacts and addressing other critical threats, like ocean plastic pollution.
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Air
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants which in turn improves public health, reduces poverty and inequality, and lessens climate change impacts.
Stories
Betting Big on Renewables
Meet Arman, an energy specialist from Kazakhstan. He wants to fight climate change and believes renewable energy is key to the solution. With USAID assistance, Kazakhstan met its renewable energy goal in 2020 and is now working toward 50 percent renewable energy by 2050.
A Flavorful Partnership
With support from USAID and McCormick, Malagasy vanilla farmers form cooperatives and harvest new opportunities. Sustainably grown vanilla has the potential to protect forests and their ability to mitigate climate change, while providing the farmers with much needed income.
How 5 Young African Leaders Are Addressing Climate Change
USAID supports Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) alumni as they tackle the world’s most pressing issues. USAID is working to elevate diverse local voices—including those of youth advocates for climate action—to empower often overlooked communities to be agents of change.
Harvesting the Bounty of the Sea
In the village of Babuyan, on the Philippine island of Palawan, fisherfolk are venturing into seaweed farming for a sustainable future. Seaweed is an effective natural way to absorb carbon emissions, and unlike trees, it does not compete with land needed for food production.
When Hope Flows With Water
Small-scale utilities in the Philippines bring clean water to local communities not connected to city water service providers. USAID is helping these communities identify water production challenges and integrate climate and disaster resilience into water safety planning.
News & Information
Last updated: November 09, 2021
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced multiple initiatives to combat the climate crisis at COP26. At the World Leaders’ Summit, President Biden announced three key initiatives which USAID will play a significant role in implementing. While at COP26, Administrator Samantha Power announced a suite of additional USAID initiatives, targets, and partnerships to support these Presidential initiatives and other Agency climate priorities.
Today, Administrator Samantha Power participated in key meetings and events at COP26 to highlight USAID’s commitment and new announcements as part of the United States’ whole of government approach to addressing the climate crisis.
President Biden and USAID are taking essential steps to put resources in the hands of people hit hardest by the climate crisis. But while the U.S. is stepping up to the plate to meet its adaptation obligations, we need an entire team of bilateral and multilateral partners by our side. We need other donor governments to meet their commitments to adaptation in the way that many have prioritized mitigation. We need climate funds to prioritize investments in early warning systems and agricultural resilience in the way they have prioritized investments in clean energy.
On November 8, USAID announced an ambitious target to mobilize $150 billion in public and private climate finance by 2030. USAID will catalyze the majority of this funding from private sector investments—as well as from public sector investments from partner country governments—through targeted programs and partnerships. USAID aims to catalyze 10 dollars of private sector financing for every one dollar of USAID public funding invested. The U.S. Government public funds that USAID invests in these programs and partnerships to catalyze outside investments will be drawn from and aligned with the anticipated $11.4 billion in annual public climate financing announced by President Biden at the UN General Assembly.
On November 8, USAID announced ambitious new targets to support implementation of the Global Climate Ambition Initiative, which the White House launched at the Leaders' Summit on Climate in April. The Global Climate Ambition Initiative seeks to coordinate U.S. government support to partner countries to strengthen and implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) under the Paris Agreement, and advance towards net-zero and newer enhanced commitments.
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