Climate Change

Advancing Global Climate Action

USAID at COP28
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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.

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— President Joe Biden

Explore USAID’s Climate Strategy

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

Energy

Supporting the transition to renewable energy and improving energy efficiency to reduce emissions and improve energy access.

Forests

Reducing emissions by combating deforestation and improving conservation and management of carbon-rich forests and landscapes.

Safety

Helping communities and countries better prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related disasters.

Food

Strengthening global food and nutrition security by advancing climate-smart agriculture and increased resilience to droughts, rising temperatures, and changing rainfall patterns.

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.

Air

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants which in turn improves public health, reduces poverty and inequality, and lessens climate change impacts.

Learn about our programs

News & Information

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The U.S. Government Joins Public-Private Partnership to Create New Billion-Dollar Guarantee Company to Tackle Global Climate Crisis

Today at COP28 the U.S. government, including USAID and the U.S. Presidential initiative Prosper Africa, announced its investment in a public-private partnership to create the Green Guarantee Company (GGC), the first ever privately run guarantee company devoted to catalyzing green bonds and loans in partner countries, focusing on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 

Protecting Our Ocean

USAID’s programming in marine, coastal, and fisheries management, nature-based solutions for climate, and combating ocean plastic pollution aim to protect the health of our oceans for the benefit of people and nature alike.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Climate Change Country Profile

FACT SHEET – Agriculture, the majority of which is rain-fed, is central to DRC’s economy. Projected increases in temperature, more extreme weather events, and changes in total precipitation and rainfall variability are likely to exacerbate social vulnerability, political instability, food insecurity, and high rates of poverty.

South Africa Climate Change Country Profile

South Africa’s dependence on coal as a primary fuel source for electricity generation makes it one of the world’s top 15 greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters. Net emissions in 2017 were estimated at 512 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e), an increase of 14 percent from 2000. The energy sector represents roughly 80 percent of gross emissions, with energy industries (approx. 60 percent) and transport (approx. 12 percent) as the top sources.

Senegal Climate Change Country Profile

FACT SHEET – Climate impacts in Senegal include rising temperatures, heat waves and high humidity, decreasing rainfall, increased length and intensity of dry spells, and coastal erosion. Addressing climate impacts, along with air pollution and maritime safety is critical to Senegal’s economic growth and low-emissions pathway as the country plans to extract oil and gas in 2024.

Stories

Two technicians examine solar panels

Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition Through Auctions

View data on USAID-supported renewable energy auctions worldwide and learn how partner countries use auctions to achieve sustainable cost reductions, reduce emissions, and increase energy security.
Close-up photo of a smiling man in a hard hat standing among photovoltaic arrays on a solar farm

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 man holds freshly-harvested green vanilla beans

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.
Young people standing in a close circle cup their hands together to support a small plant

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.
Fisherfolk hold seaweed in the air against a vivid blue sky

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.
A smiling woman in yellow firefighter gear stands in a green valley surrounded by tall mountains

The Lady of Fires

When the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu were threatened by forest fires, firefighter Jessica Morón and her wildland firefighting team battled the flames to protect the historic sanctuary and its surrounding biodiversity, and combat climate change.
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