Our Work

Climate change is impacting people around the world. As temperatures and sea levels rise, people are increasingly seeing heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires upend their lives. The effects of climate change are not equal—they disproportionately impact the poorest and most marginalized communities USAID works to support every day. Climate change affects virtually everything that USAID does and threatens the development progress it has supported over more than 60 years.

To improve the effectiveness and sustainability of development efforts, national governments anticipate and adapt to expected changes in their development investments, and donors such as USAID practice climate risk management, whereby they systematically assess, address, and adaptively manage program risks for present and future climate conditions. Well-designed and accessible climate information services, tools, and resources are essential to prepare for and adapt to change. In addition, sound land management and cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements  are long-term solutions to climate change that also promote economic growth and enhance livelihoods. These pathways help countries meet their targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions while growing their economies and securing cleaner air and greater environmental sustainability.

Climatelinks was launched in 2015. It is a repository for technical climate and development information and serves as a platform for new content about USAID’s climate and development programs. The site also provides a way to share climate-related information with USAID staff, implementing partners, and the development community at large. Climatelinks is implemented through the Advancing Capacity for the Environment (ACE) program. It does not represent the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.