A Banned-Aid Solution
The Trump administration has ended foreign climate assistance, Europe is slashing it, while Australia was barely offering any in the first place.
The USAid agency has been extinguished by the Trump Administration, with a raft of other Western nations also slashing support for those most vulnerable to the climate crisis.
The complete dismantling of USAid has left thousands of initiatives with nowhere to turn, such as those building climate resilience against rising floodwaters and mudslides in Bangladesh through measures such as reinforced hillsides;
Programs that have already collapsed include nutrition support for 600,000 Kenyans enduring extreme drought, and accessible disaster warning systems for disabled people in the Philippines;
Lancet researchers estimate that roughly 700,000 children will die a year due to the cuts, many from diseases exacerbated by the climate crisis like malaria;
Affected projects include over 100 joint initiatives with Australia largely in the Pacific, triggering “chaos” and “total panic”.
Instead of stepping up to the plate to make up for America’s refusal to honour in-progress aid contracts, many Western nations have taken a razor to their own foreign assistance programs.
The UK (39% cut), Germany (27% cut), Canada (25% cut) and France (19% cut) are among those to have gutted their foreign aid budgets to ramp up defence spending;
Australia has increased aid to the Pacific, but this is redirected from its other assistance schemes, and the country’s allocation of 0.18% of gross national income to foreign aid falls well short of European nations, even after their latest cuts;
The US has also withdrawn its 22% share of funding for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including future pledges to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage;
This fund provides assistance directly to communities who are experiencing negative consequences of climate change — usually people who have done little to contribute to emissions largely generated by major economies;
Other countries and non-government organisations have filled the breach for now however, with China upping its contributions and Bloomberg Philanthropies pledging to cover the US’s share.
The West’s abandonment of the people most vulnerable to the climate crisis it has created is an unfolding emergency that is getting more dire by the minute.
A coalition of charities are calling for donations to a Rapid Response Fund to meet critical shortfalls in programs no longer getting USAid support;
Oxfam has launched legal action against the US government over aid cuts, as well as a petition pushing for their reinstatement. It additionally is circulating a petition calling on Australia to raise its paltry levels of foreign aid;
The UN is on a donation drive for its Climate Action Account, which helps to deliver immediate life-saving relief while helping vulnerable communities build climate resilience;
There’s also urgent need for appropriately skilled volunteers to help implement on-the-ground solutions in countries in need.