As part of a wide range of efforts to bypass parliament and unilaterally reduction of government expenditures, the Donald Trump administration is an independent U.S. international development organization that provides humanitarian support and economic development funds around the world. Or the business in USAID is almost closed. 。 President Trump issued a presidential order to suspend all USAID funds on the first day of his inauguration, and after that, Agency, from Sudan’s soup kitchen to a global humanitarian group Mercy team, almost all financing recipers. Published a stop work order.
Since then, ELON MUSK’s new government efficiency has closed the distributor’s website, tightened employees from email accounts, and closed the Washington Office of the institution.
“USAID is a criminal organization,” Musk posted to X on Sunday. “Time to die.”
Trump’s criticism of the sudden destruction of Trump focuses mainly on global public health projects that have been enjoying ultra -partic support for a long time, but this effort also fights climate change. We are threatening billions of dollars intended. USAID climate -related financing can help you build renewable energy, adapt to worsening natural disasters, and save carbon sinks and sensitive ecosystems. During the Joe Biden administration, USAID has accelerated the climate’s efforts. Ambitious new initiative It should have continued until the end of 10 years. As the USAID contractors around the world prepare, the effort seems to be approaching the sudden end. Abandon important projects and fire staff。
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken over USAID as a substitute director, but the sudden closure of the mask is “not to remove foreign aid.” However, even if the USAID resumes activities to provide emergency humanitarian support such as hunger Amine and HIV prevention, the authorities will still end all of the climate -related work under the Trump administration. Is expensive. As a result, Trump will hit the Paris climate agreement as as important as Trump has officially withdrawn the United States. With the parliament taking billions of dollars, which has already committed to global warming, the United States has been preparing for climate progress far beyond his borders.
“This is a torch paid by Americans,” said Gillian Coldwell, who was the highest climate of USAID under former President Biden. “Many commitments based on the Paris Agreement are the conditions for providing funds, which is very dangerous.”
The United States spends less than 1 % of the federal budget for foreign assistance, but the country is still the world’s largest assistant. USAID is distributed between $ 40 and $ 60 billion per year. This is almost a quarter of global humanitarian support. In recent years, the largest shares of the aid have been to Ukraine, Israel and Afghanistan, while the institution has distributed billions of dollars to Africa, Sahara, and Southeast Asia, Sahara. Hygiene and education initiatives.
In 2022, Coldwell has led the launch of a new “climate strategy”, which has tried to reconnect USAID work in the next 10 years to explain the climate shock. The first part of this initiative was a review of existing countries in standard fields such as food and hygiene. The USAID office around the world has begun to fine -tune businesses as the temperature continues to rise, to guarantee that funding projects will be maintained. For example, agency plans to inoculate a disease that can process a greater flood in a water and sewage system, or to spread the warm climate that can spread faster. This effort is especially important in sectors like agriculture, a sector like agriculture with a lot of emissions, and is very vulnerable to the weather shock with even small climax shifts.
“If you have an extreme weather phenomenon, you will have more demands for humanitarian support,” she said. “The point is to confirm that all the dollars we spend are wise, considering the world we live today.”
In addition to the reviews, the agency also increased direct expenditures on renewable energy, conservation and climate. The agency has added dozens of new countries to the climate aid portfolio under Biden’s period of employment, and expanded in Southeast Asia and West Africa. The USAID work had a much greater impact on the climate battle than the raw spending of about $ 600 million in the 2023 climate efforts. This is because the support of the agency mobilizes $ billions of dollars from the private sector and collects investment from renewable energy developers and insurance companies that provide drought and flood compensation to vulnerable areas overseas. 。
USAID renewable energy efforts may be the most resilient for Trump’s shock attack. Because they do not depend on the continuous involvement of institutions. The USAID supports several countries to design and hold the renewable energy auctions, and private companies are seeking the right to build new electricity facilities at low prices. These auctions save national money and make private capital easier. In the Philippines Auctions sponsored by two USAIDs Without USAID support, we have created almost $ 7 billion in investing in 5.4 gigawatts’ solar energy and wind energy to move millions of houses.
Agency Expenditure for landscape preservation Safety is low. This fund is made by paying to nearby residents in order to seek a livelihood other than the cuts and grazing, which may release a large amount of emissions from carbon accumulated in the forest. Prevents the development of a delicate natural environment. If the USAID collapses, the aid will be depleted and will risk millions of acres’ climate -friendly land.
Most of the USAID climate -related expenditures are facing disaster resilience, and government support is important without attracting much investment from banks and private companies. For example, in the case of Zimbabwe, the agency provides dozens of projects a year, aiming to increase national farmers to drought and floods. (This is cooperating most of the USAID funds in addition to the public health and the rescue of AIDS provided in the United States.)
Jekesai Njikizana / AFP via Jetti Image
One of the largest disaster relief programs in Zimbabwe Help small farmersBy building a small rainy water -aggregation system and supporting the recovery of the deteriorated soil, tens of thousands of households have increased water stability. The USAID has funded about $ 12 million projects a year since 2020, and the program will continue for the next three years.
Zimbabwe’s climate and the Minister of the Environment, Washington Zakata, said that when the USAID funded, it would be almost impossible for the government to meet the Paris Agreement. The country promises not only developing renewable energy, but also spending enormous money for drought and flood protection. We have formulated a national adaptation plan on the premise that future funds will be provided.
“As a result of the withdrawal of funds, resources are restricted and reduced, so it is difficult to meet compliance,” Zhakata told Grista. “Due to the gap between the created finance, developing countries need to live with minimal resources and narrow down from the domestic source.”
Occasionally, USAID faces criticism of inefficient expenditures and unclear results, including past climate expenditures. Inspiers at the agency criticized the USAID previous climate initiative in the summer of last year as having a dark data, “The weak point of the agency process for the award of funds, managing performance, and transmitting climate change information. It could hinder the success of the implementation, “he said.
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Inspectors’ reports also called for the USAID measured values ​​for climate progress. Another thing I will report last yearAgency stated that a new clean energy investment in Pakistan would reduce the greenhouse gas emission of about 55 million tons by 2030. In Brazil, government agencies have preserved about 118 million acuers, and they are isolated to millions of tons of carbon. Inspectors stated that these results were “very susceptible to the impact of inaccurate,” because the emissions have not yet occurred.
Some experts also argue that institutional humanitarian assistance programs are not focused on reducing long -term risks. Food security experts who talked with greaies in 2023 hunger Amine in Somalia have provided emergency food assistance in the country because the affiliated people lost their income, but shepherds adapt to drought in future drought. He said he did not provide enough money to help. Former USAID cleavage Coldwell states that government agencies have reduced long -term risks by reducing the discharge of emergency assistance and ensuring that new infrastructure can survive future disasters. Ta.
The first Trump administration tried to eliminate climate assistance in all rounds of annual budget negotiations, Some Senate Republicans resisted And it maintains assistance and is at a much larger or less level. This time, there is no guarantee that Republican members of Congress will show the same resistance to Trump’s request. There is no guarantee that the administration will comply with laws that require the money they use. Trump created a special government official to implement the vision of a government efficiency bureau, if he succeeded in overcoming the court’s challenge, clearing the USAID staff, and closing typical businesses of the institution. You will need a new administration and many years of work. Assuming that the parliament will vote to recover it, the flow of climate assistance.
Trump has withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement on the first day of his inauguration, but the United States is still a member of the UN weather treaty, and only the parliament has the authority to withdraw from the treaty. The original framework textbooks adopted by the United States in 1992 stated that rich nations, such as the United States, “provide” and support the poor countries to achieve climate goals. I am.
In a statement on the closure of the USAID, Mannish Bapuna, the head of the non -profit natural resource defense council, has linked USAID to the withdrawal of Trump from the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“Like the exit of the Paris climate agreement, this action does not benefit American taxpayers, but only narrows down windows for essential climate and global health.” I did it. “This is a strangely counterproductive and poorly timing movement because the world is facing serious climate, health, environmental, and economic crisis. All of these are worse by this attack on USAID.”
Editor Note: The Council of Natural Resources Defense is a Grist advertiser. The advertiser has not played a role in making Grist’s editing decisions.
