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Under the Paris Agreement, countries devise blueprints for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). Countries’ current commitments do not put the world on track to limit and avoid dangerous global warming, but, at the same time, achieving the current goals in countries’ NDCs and NAPs is both difficult and complex. Supporting countries on their respective journeys—from more ambitious policy formulation and finance mobilization to investment promotion, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation—is foundational to achieving both country and global climate ambitions.
USAID’s Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI), led by Abt Global, was launched at COP26 with the goal of identifying promising mitigation and adaptation investment opportunities with private sector partners to help countries meet their climate commitments and strengthen their climate resilience. It provides support to countries by helping them increase policy ambitions and legislative directives for emissions reductions and address critical implementation barriers related to information, finance, technology, capacity, and regulations.
Over the past two years, CACCI has made progress on several fronts, including increasing climate policy ambition, mobilizing the private sector, enhancing accountability and transparency, and bridging the gap between intention and results. By creating a positive feedback loop between implementation success and greater ambition, countries see a realistic pathway to achieving their targets, making them more likely to commit to even more ambitious targets.
Increasing Climate Policy Ambition Through Foundational Target Setting
CACCI responds in tailored ways to direct requests from countries. For example, supporting higher-emitting countries, such as South Africa, takes a whole-of-economy approach in setting new emissions targets. CACCI is aiding South Africa’s Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The LT-LEDS provides a vision for achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century. It relies on evidence and modeling that informs the sectoral measures and investments for a whole-of-economy approach.
On the other hand, assisting lower-emitting countries, such as Jamaica, focuses on improving the enabling environment to support implementation. CACCI supports the Jamaican Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation in developing climate change legislation, shaping the enabling environment for ambitious climate action. This includes setting the vision for decarbonization, establishing mandates for cross-sectoral coordination, clarifying institutional arrangements, and enabling private investment and finance for new technologies.
Mobilizing and Encouraging the Private Sector
Given the scale of the climate crisis, achieving climate goals requires significant private investments. CACCI collaborated with the Boston Consulting Group to create an investment impact framework to help investors articulate adaptation and resilience project bankability in terms of feasibility, resilience impact, co-benefits, and profitability. CACCI worked with Nigeria’s National Council on Climate Change, building investment cases for six projects valued at over $1.1 billion in the agriculture, water, and energy sectors.
Through the CACCI Partnership for Climate Action, private sector partners are articulating how their investments address climate change and support national climate agendas. For example, Genesis Energy is investing in renewable energy projects in Zambia to improve energy, health, and agriculture outcomes. Those projects include a hybrid solar and wind plant, solar electrification for healthcare facilities, and solar-powered cold chain storage to reduce post-harvest losses.
Enhancing Accountability and Transparency
Effective monitoring, evaluation, and learning mechanisms are essential for tracking and reporting progress, identifying gaps, and adjusting strategies and ambitions. Understanding actions at local, national, and regional levels is crucial for benchmarking progress and to meeting global commitments. CACCI is supporting the African Union Commission through the development of a digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Learning Dashboard, which offers a consistent framework for member states to report on NDC implementation progress.
Bridging the Gap Between Intention and Results
Despite the difficulty of meeting climate commitments, countries must take action to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. As countries put in place the building blocks of progress, it is important to act, not just plan. Taking action, however imperfect, is the best shot at bridging the gap between intention and results. CACCI will continue to meet countries where they are on their journeys, providing tailored support to implement current goals, increase policy ambitions, and enhance resilience to climate impacts.
Dr. Molly Hellmuth
Dr. Molly Hellmuth is the Senior Project Director for the USAID Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI). She leads a core project team working with more than 15 countries to support increased climate policy ambition, climate integration into sector plans and budgets, improved climate action monitoring and reporting, and enhanced private sector climate finance and investment. An established thought leader, she currently serves as the lead author of the 5th U.S. National Climate Assessment’s International Chapter. She holds a PhD and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder, a B.S. in Environmental Studies, and a B.A. in French.
John Heermans
John Heermans is the Deputy Project Director for the USAID-funded Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative, which supports countries to implement and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans to the Paris Agreement through engagement with USAID Missions and Bureaus and with country governments. He holds a M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Maryland and a B.S. in Biology from Saint Lawrence University.
Dr. Emily Weeks
Dr. Emily Weeks is a Senior Policy Advisor in the USAID Bureau of Resilience and Food Security. She provides leadership across the Agency in climate change, natural resource management, land and resource governance, resilience, and food security. She has led several key efforts including the natural resource management guidance for the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy, the Climate and Natural Resource Management Policy, the Agency guidance on nature-based solutions, and the Land and Resource Governance Joint Statement. She has conducted research for a range of projects in Oceania, Asia, and Africa. She has a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of Waikato, New Zealand and a M.S. in Marine Ecology from Massey University, New Zealand.
