Despite undeniable evidence that climate change is an existential threat that causes disasters around the world, we are not doing enough to prepare people to weather increasingly more severe climate shocks. Indeed, many communities around the world are wholly unprepared to adapt to destruction of infrastructure, crops, and livelihoods. To help prepare communities for climate shocks and build their resilience, President Biden initiated PREPARE, the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience. Leading the charge are the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
“The problem of identifying the highest priority solutions is … complex, because they differ by place: adapting to increasing floods requires very different solutions than adapting to crippling heat waves, for example,” said USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
“Nearly two decades ago, USAID teamed up with NASA to create a program called SERVIR, which helps countries understand the very particular risks that extreme weather variability poses for them. Today, SERVIR uses satellite imagery across 50 countries to deliver advanced projections and real-time data on everything from floods to forest fires to potential breeding grounds for crop-destroying locusts. And it offers tools to predict longer-term trends in things like crop yields and droughts.”
On January 30, Administrator Power announced that USAID will commit an additional $11 million, to SERVIR. “This data will not just help guide immediate lifesaving action, but it will forecast long-term needs to help countries prioritize solutions.”
USAID is also encouraging innovative thinking. “Innovation to strengthen climate resilience, however, is currently lagging. And we need to change that,” said Administrator Power. For example, “increasing levels of drought can have catastrophic implications for global food security.”
“We have invested in foundational research with university partners to develop new drought-tolerant seeds and growing techniques. We have given grants to agriculture companies and to universities to develop seeds for staple crops like corn and rice that can better withstand drier climates,” she said. “And through the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils – so called VACS – we are extending that work alongside the State Department and African researchers to create more resilient versions of indigenous crops like cowpea and millet as well.”
“The more we can harness ideas and capital from around the world to help jumpstart innovations like these,” said Administrator Power, “the faster that we can build affordable solutions to keep climate disasters from shocking our systems.”
