Mercy Corps Supports Crucial Investment in Climate Finance in President Biden’s FY 2023 Budget Request, Urges Congress to Act

Mercy Corps – an organization helping communities in fragile countries worldwide adapt to climate change – applauds the Biden Administration’s FY 2023 budget request for strong international climate financing that will be vital to assist communities least able to cope with repeated climate-related shocks like floods and droughts. 

Kate Phillips-Barrasso, Mercy Corps’ Vice President for Global Policy and Advocacy, says:

“This critical and narrowing window must be seized. Climate change will continue to be a threat multiplier disrupting food systems and water resources, exacerbating hunger, and stoking greater conflict. As these risks mount, inaction is not an option. Clear and bold steps must be taken now to respond with urgency to looming threats."

"U.S. assistance must be significant, sustained, and smarter to mitigate against spiraling humanitarian needs stemming from the climate crisis. The Fiscal Year 2022 budget fell dramatically short of the mark and undermined the U.S.’ ability to save lives and usher in an era of international action by tackling the pressing climate realities hitting lower and middle-income countries. The adaptation financing in the President’s FY23 request could offer a desperately needed course correction and acknowledges the seriousness of this make or break period in buffering against the negative climate impacts faced by the most vulnerable. Now the task rests with the U.S. Congress, which must act in the face of potentially dire circumstances to support smart climate financing and action before it’s too late.”