This page provides summaries with access to full text of US Presidential Executive Orders that establish environmental review requirements for certain USAID programming and/or establish related programming mandates.
Executive Order 12114
Environmental effects abroad of major federal actions. Requires that US government agencies (including USAID) undertaking activities/projects in foreign countries develop procedures to, in effect, comply with the spirit of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires an environmental impact assessment (EIA) process for US government projects.
Executive Order 12898
Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. This Order directs federal agencies to make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies and activities on minority and low-income populations.
Executive Order 13045
Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks Concerns. Each federal agency shall make it a high priority to identify and assess environmental health risks and safety risks that may disproportionately affect children, and shall ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address these risks.
Executive Order 13089
Coral Reef Protection. Directs all Federal agencies whose actions may affect U.S. coral reef systems to ensure that any activities they authorize, fund, or carry out will not degrade the conditions of such ecosystems.
Executive Order 13112
Invasive Species. Mandates that any Federal agency whose actions may affect the status of invasive species not authorize, fund, or carry out any action that it believes is likely to cause or promote the introduction or spread of invasive species in the United States.
Executive Order 13158
Marine Protected Areas. Creates a national system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and requires each Federal agency whose actions affect natural or cultural resources within an MPA to identify such actions and, to the maximum extent practicable, avoid harm to those natural and cultural resources.
Executive Order 13677
Climate-Resilient International Development. Federal agencies such as USAID with international development programs are to incorporate climate-resilience considerations into policies and procedures to the full extent permitted by law and requires agencies to assess the risks to their projects and adjust the projects appropriately.
Executive Order 14008
Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 2021). This order foremost states that the United States shall build on and reaffirm actions that place the climate crisis at the forefront of foreign policy and national security planning and will exercise its leadership to promote a significant increase in global climate ambition to meet the climate challenge for example through the Paris Agreement’s three overarching objectives.
Executive Order 14013
Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration. The Executive Order states that through the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and other humanitarian programs, the humanitarian purposes expressed by the Congress in enacting the Refugee Act of 1980, Public Law 96-212 shall be administered consistently and minimize humanitarian concern.
Executive Order 14027
Establishment of the Climate Change Support Office. This order support he establishment of a temporary organization known as the Climate Change Support Office(CCSO) with the purpose to support bilateral and multilateral engagement to advance the United States initiative to address the global climate crisis and shall be headed by a Director selected by the Secretary of State.
Executive Order 14072
Strengthening the Nation's Forests, Communities, and Local Economies. This order seeks to address the challenges posed by wildfires in the United States through strengthening forest management practices, promoting community resilience, and emphasizing conservation, collaboration, and Tribal engagement while emphasizing science-based decision making.