The annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC, is a chance for governments, NGOs, public and private businesses, and civil society to make ambitious climate pledges. But just as important as announcing new initiatives is understanding the impact of past commitments. At previous COPs, USAID launched or announced its participation in a variety of climate initiatives that help create a more climate-secure future. Here’s a roundup of Climatelinks blogs highlighting the progress driven by some of these initiatives:
Catalyzing Change: Empowering Women through Climate Finance
USAID launched the Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) at COP27 to harness the power of public-private partnerships to close the gender-climate finance gap. In just the first two years of CGEF’s operations, USAID and its partners—Reckitt, Skoll Foundation, the UPS Foundation, Visa Foundation, and Amazon—committed over $24 million in funding to support women-led and women-benefitting climate solutions.
Enhancing Community Resilience: Addressing Compound and Cascading Climate Shocks
At COP27, USAID announced it was expanding the Comprehensive Africa for Climate Change Initiative into a global effort called the Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI). CACCI helps countries implement their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans, which makes them well-positioned to strengthen countries’ climate risk management and help them take action against climate shocks.
Global Methane Pledge: An Important Climate Action Pathway for Tajikistan
The Global Methane Pledge (GMP) was launched at COP26 by the European Union and the United States with the goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. USAID supports partner countries that are committed to the pledge measure and reduce their methane emissions. Earlier this year, Tajikistan joined the GMP with support from activities implemented by the International Food and Policy Research Institute under CACCI.
Protecting Women Farmers from Climate Risk in Rural Kenya
Since it was announced at COP26, the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) has been working to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change. Led by USAID and the U.S. Department of State, PREPARE is implemented by 20 federal agencies, showcasing the impact of interagency collaboration. One example of this collaboration is the Gender-sensitive Agricultural Index-based Insurance project implemented by the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development in partnership with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and USAID. This project helps women farmers in Kenya who are vulnerable to climate shocks access agricultural insurance.
Jamie Schoshinski
Jamie Schoshinski is a Program Associate with Environmental Incentives, primarily supporting USAID’s Advancing Capacity for the Environment (ACE) project as a Climatelinks Content and Social Media Manager. Jamie has a Master’s in Environmental Policy from American University and a BA in English and Political Science from Temple University.
