A World on Fire: Orienting the U.S. Foreign Assistance Architecture to Build Climate Resilience
January 23, 2020
This policy brief explores the current status of climate change adaptation within the U.S. foreign assistance architecture, and offers actionable recommendations to reorient towards climate resilience.
We know that climate change is a destabilizer and a threat multiplier. It takes existing vulnerabilities and amplifies them, costing both dollars and lives. Nearly 3.4 billion people across 78 countries are estimated to be highly vulnerable to climate change, but are not yet ready to act. There is a strong imperative for the U.S. government to demonstrate leadership and ensure that our foreign assistance helps the most vulnerable adapt to the changing climate.
Fortunately, there are opportunities for action. Our recommendations include:
- Introduce a new Global Climate Change Strategy
- Strengthen climate mainstreaming and improve tracking of climate change adaptation expenditures and program outcomes
- Re-appoint a Special Envoy for Climate Change
- Prioritize both bilateral and multilateral funding for vulnerable communities
- Improve multilateral policies to support climate-smart, risk-informed development
