Adaptation

Description

Climate adaptation programs support country response to adapt to and build resilience against the effects of climate change. This includes extreme fast onset and slow onset weather events such as intolerable heat, droughts, intense storms, floods, wildfires, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification. Funds also reduce climate-related impacts on critical infrastructure, agricultural productivity, water resources, and public health.

Use of Funds

Funds support bilateral adaptation efforts to build resilience to storm surges in coastal communities, provide early-warning systems, stabilize areas prone to landslides, reduce pollution, improve soil health, and reduce food insecurity through regenerative, sustainable agriculture. Funds for multilateral efforts could be used to support the Adaptation Fund, which finances “adaptation and resilience activities in developing countries that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.”

Justification

• Climate change could push between 32 million to 132 million people back into extreme poverty by 2030, eroding years of development gains.
• Climate change is already affecting crop yields globally. Without adaptation measures, some of the hardest hit areas, like Sub-Saharan Africa, may experience average crop yield reductions of 40% by 2080.
• By 2050, up to 216 million people could be forced to migrate, primarily due to drought, water scarcity, sea level rise, and declining agricultural productivity. Sub-Saharan Africa could see as many as 86 million internal climate migrants; East Asia and the Pacific, 49 million; South Asia, 40 million; North Africa, 19 million; Latin America, 17 million; and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 5 million.
• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partners with more than 30 countries to strengthen their resilience. With USAID’s assistance, more than 12,000 national and subnational institutions have improved their capacity to assess and respond to climate impacts.
• Multilateral adaptation efforts funded through the Adaptation Fund have benefited 38 million people and restored or preserved over 600,000 hectares of natural habitat.