The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) carries out climate change and development work in four main areas: energy, sustainable landscapes, climate resilience, and climate risk management. USAID supports global research and analysis and partners bilaterally with dozens of countries to build capacity, address governance, and create the legal and regulatory environment needed to address climate change and development. This work is integral to helping countries pursue economic growth, stability, and self-reliance.

Energy: USAID helps partner countries build strong energy sectors that can attract private investment and power global economic and social development. USAID’s efforts support least-cost modern energy solutions. In many countries, renewable energy is now the least-cost solution that maximizes development impact.

Sustainable landscapes: USAID supports research on estimating and accounting for land-based carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes, and on governance and finance in the land sector, all with a focus on developing countries. USAID also supports partner countries in meeting their commitments to reduce land-based greenhouse gas emissions, often through activities that promote conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of forests, agriculture, and other lands. By improving landscape management, USAID helps to curb destruction and degradation, improve livelihoods, and increase resilience. 

Climate resilience: USAID works with partner countries to build climate resilience and disaster preparedness to weather and climate-related shocks and stresses such as droughts, floods, and shifting rainfall patterns. Improved weather and climate information, informed land use planning, and smart infrastructure design are some ways communities can prepare for these risks and avoid setbacks. Thinking ahead and proactively managing risks help sustain livelihoods and maintain critical services, reducing the need for costly disaster response.

Climate risk management (CRM): CRM is an internal USAID practice to assess, address and manage climate risk in new strategies, projects, and activities across USAID’s development portfolio, safeguarding U.S. investments through informed decision-making.

With over seventy overseas missions, USAID enables decision-makers to apply high-quality climate information to their decision-making and enables countries to accelerate their transition to climate resilient, sustainable economic development. USAID achieves these objectives through direct programming and integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation activities into the broader development portfolio.

USAID leverages scientific and technical resources from across the U.S. Government, private sector partners, and nongovernmental organizations and science institutes to develop and implement low-emissions development strategies, creating policy frameworks for market-based approaches to emission reduction and energy sector reform, promoting sustainable management of agricultural lands and forests, protecting biodiversity, and mainstreaming adaptation into development activities in countries most at risk to advance resilient and sustainable development.