USAID: In-nisa huma Affettwati b'mod sproporzjonat mit-Tibdil fil-Klima

MR. CAPEHART: Nibdew stampa kbira. Kif u b'liema modi n-nisa huma affettwati b'mod sproporzjonat mit-tibdil fil-klima?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Ukoll, l-ewwel, ħalluni nirringrazzja lil dawk minnkom li qed torganizzaw dan l-avveniment.

U għid biss li din hija l-10 UNGA tiegħi – le, il-11-il UNGA tiegħi u din hija l-ewwel darba li kont f’avveniment bħal dan, li qed jieħu ras fuq sors ewlieni ta’ ħafna problemi u ħtieġa kbira f’termini ta’ soluzzjonijiet .

Għalhekk jien ngħid l-ewwel, in-nisa huma, bħala l-persuni kollha emarġinati, il-popolazzjonijiet vulnerabbli kollha għandhom tendenza li jkunu affettwati b'mod sproporzjonat mit-tibdil fil-klima. Narawha f’komunitajiet ta’ minoranza f’dan il-pajjiż għal darb’oħra. Narawha mad-dinja kollha tilgħab.

Jekk tħares lejn ir-rati attwali ta’ diżgrazzji jew rati ta’ mwiet f’emerġenzi naturali, tara n-nisa u t-tfal iġarrbu l-piż. U tista 'taħseb, oh, ukoll, dik hija differenza bijoloġika u forsi ma jistgħux jegħlbu l-mewġ tal-marea jew kwalunkwe.

Iżda hija ħafna dwar in-normi tas-sessi u kemm jekk tkun, tħossok li għandek bżonn permess sabiex tkun taf jekk tistax titlaq u tinqabad fid-djar. Huwa b'mod ġenerali, biss fil-fatt tkun responsabbli għal tant f'termini tal-benessri tal-familja. U li ma tkunx f’pożizzjoni, għal darb’oħra, li tpoġġi l-benesseri tiegħu b’mod prominenti ħafna.

Tarawh jum għal jum, il-vulnerabbiltajiet, hekk kif l-ilma jinxef, u għadni kemm mort f’ħafna postijiet – żgur li ħafna minnkom ukoll – fejn huwa daqshekk qawwi anke minn sena għal oħra, kif differenti l-pajsaġġi huma minn dawk biss għaxar snin ilu. Iżda ħaġa waħda ma nbidlitx daqshekk, li hija n-norma li huma n-nisa li jmorru jiġbru l-ilma fil-komunitajiet rurali, biex hekk kif l-ilma jinxef ħdejn il-komunità, in-nisa jridu jimxu aktar u aktar.

U dan ovvjament kien mezz terribbli li bih, jew rotta li biha, in-nisa kienu kontinwament soġġetti għal vjolenza bbażata fuq is-sess matul it-triq. Allura iktar ma tmur aktar, inqas protezzjoni ikollok, aktar dawk in-normi l-oħra li ma jidhrux fuq wiċċhom jidhru li għandhom x’jaqsmu mal-bidla fil-klima per se – norma li tindika li hu tajjeb li tattakka jew tattakka mara. – dik in-norma mbagħad taqsam u għalhekk tfisser impatt differenti għal darb'oħra fuq in-nisa f'dak is-settur ukoll.

MR. CAPEHART: Allura fejn fid-dinja huma dawn il-kwistjonijiet l-aktar akuti?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Ukoll, huwa diffiċli li tagħżel. Nagħtik ftit dawra qasira tal-orizzont riċenti tiegħi, jew tkun xi tkun il-verżjoni b'lura ta' orizzont.

Matul l-aħħar sena, ivvjaġġajt lejn il-Pakistan meta terz tal-pajjiż kien taħt l-ilma minħabba taħlita ta 'xita bla preċedent u glaċieri li jdubu – ħabat f'daqqa – u preparazzjoni u infrastruttura inadegwata. U għal darb'oħra, ħafna drabi huma n-nisa, l-aħħar li jibqgħu biex jipproteġu l-proprjetà, biex jipproteġu l-bhejjem hekk kif l-irġiel imorru jfittxu l-għajnuna. Jiġifieri, kulħadd huwa affettwat b'modi terribbli.

Ivvjaġġa minn hemm, imbagħad, lejn it-Tramuntana tal-Kenja u lejn is-Somalja biex tara ħames staġuni tax-xita falluti. Allura l-kuntrarju sħiħ ta 'dak li kont rajt fil-Pakistan, li hija biss art niexfa. Miljuni ta’ bhejjem mietu min-nixfa fil-Qarn tal-Afrika. Tista’ taħseb, ukoll, l-effett ewlieni se jkun fuq ir-raħħala, li huma, ovvjament, in-nies li jrabbu l-bhejjem.

U żgur, fil-fatt rajt żieda kbira fis-suwiċidji ta’ dawn l-irġiel, għax huma, għal millenji, kienu ilhom irabbu l-annimali u f’daqqa waħda l-merħliet sħaħ tagħhom ta’ mogħoż jew iġmla tħassru eżatt hekk.

Iżda meta jiġu biex jimmaniġġjaw l-effetti fuq il-familji u l-malnutrizzjoni akuta severa li baqgħu biha ż-żgħażagħ, partikolarment it-tfal taħt il-ħames snin, kienu n-nisa li kellhom jittrattaw kemm ma’ żwieġhom qalbhom, kif ukoll il-kwistjoni ta’ x’jiġri minn ulied li kellhom immaġina li l-istil ta’ ħajja qed ikompli u issa qed jaħsbu f’daqqa, “Kif possibilment nagħtihom ħajja alternattiva, vokazzjoni alternattiva,” imma mbagħad ukoll qegħdin f’pożizzjoni li jippruvaw isibu ikel għall-iżgħar.

Allura ngħid, għal darb'oħra, tolqot f'postijiet differenti. Kont biss, l-aħħar waħda li noffrilek hija, kont biss il-Fiġi.

U ovvjament, għall-Gżejjer tal-Paċifiku kollha – huma kważi kollha – hija theddida eżistenzjali.

Hija dwar nazzjonalitajiet sħaħ li jridu jsibu f'xi numru ta 'snin li ġejjin fejn imorru, x'jagħmlu, bħal, jekk jistgħu jgħixu f'partijiet tal-pajjiż, b'mod partikolari gżejjer, li huma tant baxxi.

U biss eżempji żgħar, fejn in-nisa huma hemmhekk, industrija li qed tikber.

F'dan il-każ, iltqajt ma' mara ma' grupp ta' nisa li kienu qed ikabbru l-għeneb tal-baħar - li, mill-mod, huma delizzjużi.

Qatt ma kelli għeneb tal-baħar qabel. U tant kienu kburin bl-għeneb tal-baħar tagħhom. U, l-USAID qed tipprova tappoġġjahom, tikseb mikroself sabiex ikunu jistgħu jibnu n-negozju tagħhom, jikbru n-negozju tagħhom.

Imma inċidentalment, u dan huwa fejn il-bidla fil-klima toħroġ f'kull naħa.

Jgħidu, sew, l-unika problema f’dawn il-jiem hi li issa rridu nieħdu d-dgħajjes tagħna aktar u aktar ‘il bogħod, għax hekk kif l-oċean jisħon, jisħon partikolarment qrib ix-xatt, għalhekk irridu mmorru aktar ‘il quddiem. Għalhekk immorru aktar biex niksbu l-għeneb tal-baħar tagħna, li jfisser ħafna aktar 'il bogħod mill-obbligi l-oħra kollha li għandna bħala nisa fid-dar.

Barra minn hekk, nużaw dgħajjes li jaħdmu bil-fjuwil, għalhekk qed inpoġġu aktar emissjonijiet fl-arja hekk kif immorru u nippruvaw niksbu dan l-għeneb tal-baħar sabiex inkabbru n-negozji tagħna.

Allura, tafu, għal darb'oħra, kull fejn tħares, il-Gżejjer tal-Paċifiku, l-Afrika, l-Asja - huma komunitajiet ta 'wara.

MR. CAPEHART: Irrid nasal għall-mikroloans imsemmija tiegħek, irrid nasal għall-għajnuna li tagħti l-USAID. Imma dawn il-kwistjonijiet li qed titkellem dwarhom huma ħafna mid-dinja li qed tiżviluppa, imma dak li qed nitkellmu huwa limitat għad-dinja li qed tiżviluppa?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Le, bilkemm, imma biss jiġri li -

MR. CAPEHART: Dik tissejjaħ mistoqsija ewlenija.

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Aħna ngħixu, ngħid – aħna naħseb fuq it-tlieta u għoxrin diżastru naturali tagħna hawn li sewa aktar minn biljun dollaru fl-Istati Uniti bħalissa.

Aħna esperjenzajna l-aktar jum, ġimgħa, u xahar sħan tagħna li qatt sar, naħseb biss fl-aħħar ftit xhur. Għall-ewwel darba kellna nagħlqu ċerti negozji, u kampijiet tas-sajf, u opportunitajiet għaż-żgħażagħ minħabba d-duħħan tan-nirien mifruxa li jestendi f’ħajjitna.

U għal darb'oħra, l-impatti differenti. Dan forsi huwa eżempju żgħir, imma meta tifel ma jkunx jista’ jmur il-kamp, ​​se tkun l-omm li taħdem – fil-biċċa l-kbira tad-djar, ċertament tiegħi – li se jkollha tifhem xiex – tkun bħal verżjoni ta’ dak li ġara mal-COVID.

Meta l-klima tolqot, kemm jekk b'modi żgħar jew ta' malajr li għandhom impatti severi fuq is-saħħa u impatti severi fuq l-istil tal-ħajja, se jaqa 'fuq il-multitaskers tad-dar biex jimmaniġġjaw dan.

Iżda, irrid ngħid, ukoll l-effetti finanzjarji biss tal-ħsara li qed issir issa fuq dak li jħossu bħala bażi kważi ta 'kuljum għal xi partijiet tal-Istati Uniti ma jistgħux jiġu eżaġerati.

Jiġri li ma jkunx dak li taħdem fuqu l-USAID għax nagħmlu x-xogħol tagħna barra.

U x-xogħol tagħna, jiena ngħid li waħda mill-akbar tensjonijiet u sfidi li niffaċċjaw hija li ningħataw riżorsi fissi u riżorsi li m'huma ilaħħqu xejn mal-intoppi tal-iżvilupp li qed jikkawża t-tibdil fil-klima.

Anke jekk qed jikbru, ir-riżorsi tagħna qed jikbru. Imma inti sempliċiment ma tistax tlaħħaq. Imma l-problema l-oħra mhix dik biss. Huwa li ħafna mir-riżorsi tagħna jmorru biex inżommu n-nies ħajjin f'ċirkostanzi ta' emerġenza bħal dawk fil-Libja ftit matul l-aħħar ġimgħa – jew dawk li semmejt fil-Pakistan jew fis-Somalja.

U dak li ma tagħmilx hu li tieħu dik l-għajnuna umanitarja kollha u tinvestiha minflok f'infrastruttura reżistenti għad-diżastri jew f'żerriegħa reżistenti għan-nixfa jew f'dak il-mikroself lil bdiewa żgħar li fil-fatt huma kapaċi jużaw l-ismartphones tagħhom biex jantiċipaw avvenimenti estremi tat-temp u għall-inqas ittaffi x'inhu dak it-telf.

Allura dak li ddeskrivejt huwa tip ta 'differenza bejn ir-reżiljenza u l-għajnuna ta' emerġenza. U aħna mwieżna ħafna bħala gvern u bħala komunità ta’ donaturi miktuba kbira lejn – I jfisser, hija ħaġa sabiħa, huwa privileġġ sabiħ li tipprova tgħin lin-nies jgħaddu mill-agħar mumenti ta’ ħajjithom.

Imma meta tagħmel dan il-mod, li huwa pjuttost stopgap, inti taf li int se tkun lura fuq dan. U dan huwa ta' qsim il-qalb żejjed.

Għax kien jgħid, konna ngħidu xokk klimatiku, imma issa qisu, huwa xokk meta huwa karatteristika prevedibbli ta’ parti partikolari tal-ħajja tal-biedja ta’ pajjiż? U allura dak x’jeħtieġ minna?

Kieku t-torta kienet ikbar, inżidu b'mod drammatiku l-investimenti tagħna fir-reżiljenza, li huwa dak li għandna nkunu qed nagħmlu. Huwa diffiċli li ma ssalvax ħajjiet fl-interess li ssalvaw ħajjiet fuq żmien itwal. Għalhekk qed nibbilanċjaw dan mill-aħjar li nistgħu. Imma mhux att ta’ bilanċ pjaċevoli.

MR. CAPEHART: Inti antiċipajt il-mistoqsija li kont se nistaqsi, taqbeż il-biċċa tal-mikro-self, għalhekk se naqbeż 'il quddiem. Ejja nitkellmu dwar ir-relazzjoni bejn l-iżvilupp ekonomiku u t-tibdil fil-klima.

Kemm huma marbuta mill-qrib dawn il-kwistjonijiet u kif l-USAID qed tindirizzahom it-tnejn fl-istess ħin?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Tajjeb, ngħid, ngħid li ninsabu jew mexjin lejn, ħalluni ngħid għax għandna triq twila x'nimxu biex indaħħlu l-attenzjoni għat-tibdil fil-klima bħala karatteristika tad-disinn tax-xogħol kollu tagħna.

Allura tip wieħed ta 'eżempju strutturali, forsi mhux ħażin ta' dan huwa li ħadna l-Uffiċċju tas-Sigurtà fl-Ikel u r-Reżiljenza tagħna u ingħaqdejna mat-tim tal-klima tagħna. U għalhekk huwa fejn - iżda r-rabta li hija pjuttost ovvja għan-nies mhijiex koinċidenza perfetta, iżda hemm tunnellati - l-agrikoltura hija sors ewlieni ta 'emissjonijiet, għalhekk dawk l-emissjonijiet jeħtieġ li jonqsu.

U ovvjament, l-agrikoltura intelliġenti għall-klima se tkun il-mod kif nippreservaw is-sigurtà tal-ikel jew inżiduha fis-snin li ġejjin. Allura dik hija għaqda waħda. Iżda f'termini ta 'edukazzjoni, huwa n-numru wieħed. Jiġifieri, lkoll, kull wieħed minna li għandu t-tfal, hija n-numru wieħed li jridu jkunu jafu t-tfal dwarna mhix biss x'se jiġri lid-dinja li naf jien, iżda wkoll x'nista' nagħmel dwarha?

Allura anki jekk wieħed jaħseb dwar l-edukazzjoni fil-governanza – huwa tant fondamentali destabilizzanti għall-gvernijiet li ma jistgħux ilaħħqu mat-tibdil fil-klima, kemm min-naħa tar-reżiljenza kif ukoll min-naħa tal-emerġenza, għaliex dan ikabbar dan it-telf ta’ fiduċja fl-istituzzjonijiet li naraw f’hekk. ħafna partijiet tad-dinja.

Dan mhux biss dwar l-esportazzjoni ta 'teknoloġiji ta' sorveljanza, inti taf, mir-RPĊ jew demokraziji li jkunu taħt attakk b'mezzi oħra.

Hemm ukoll biss affarijiet li qed jiġru fid-dinja li meta gvern ma jkunx jista’ jlaħħaq, ikabbar dak iċ-ċiniżmu dwar l-istituzzjonijiet. Allura dan huwa mod twil kif ngħidu li nagħmlu xogħol ta’ governanza fl-USAID, nagħmlu edukazzjoni, nagħmlu saħħa pubblika li hija kompletament konnessa mal-klima.

Hekk kif tħares lejn ix-xejriet tal-malarja li qed jinbidlu, id-WHO, naħseb, qed tbassar li sal-250,000 2030 ruħ addizzjonali se jkunu mietu minħabba l-klima - kemm jekk huwa stress tas-sħana jew malarja jew nuqqas ta 'ilma, malnutrizzjoni li tikber minnha.

Allura fejn irridu naslu bħala aġenzija huwa li ndaħħlu l-attenzjoni għar-reżiljenza u l-attenzjoni għat-tibdil fil-klima u xi tfisser għal komunità f'dak kollu li nagħmlu.

In a sense, USAID is a climate agency, even if we still have a climate team that works as a climate team per se, mainstreaming this agenda is what our missions are trying to do all around the world.

And this is not because I anticipate the, you know, the concerns of some maybe in our domestic politics on this – and I’m sure you’ll get there, but this isn’t USAID foisting anything.

This is the cri de coeur for you know, heard all around the world, that this is a game changer. Our development trajectories were going here – COVID hit and now we have what could feel like a COVID-like, not not of the same scale, but battering again and again and again.

So just as we’re now thinking differently about pandemic prevention, what should that lead us to think about when it comes to embedding climate in the mindset of all public spending and all notions of mobilizing, mobilizing private capital, because that’s, of course, going to be a big part of the solution.

So we’re that’s – it’s this mainstreaming and not having climate live over here. But given that it is this game changer and given it’s our host countries and the communities in which we work and of it works. It’s John F. Kennedy’s pleading gives us more of the tools to adapt to this shell-shocking phenomenon.

MR. CAPEHART: Well, I asked the question about economic development because, with economic development comes perhaps better lives, and better living conditions, which then can exacerbate the issues related to climate change.

So how do you – and I wrote it down really fast – that mainstreaming, how in mainstreaming climate in the things that you do. How do you find that balance between helping people help themselves, while at the same time not doing it in a way that exacerbates the climate problems that we all have to face?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Yeah, and I mean, I think one example I think that you’re alluding to is, you know, as people get richer, they buy more meat and that causes, you know, more emissions or they travel more, they’re flying more there.

And absolutely, I mean, we’ve seen that the emissions trajectory in both the PRC and India reflected that.

Our emissions trajectory, back as we were bringing our economy online and modernizing, absolutely reflects that. So I think that is profound. I will say the fact that solar power, the cost of solar has come down by 85 percent. The cost of wind is down by 55 percent. Where we work, the demand signal for renewables is very, very significant – which doesn’t get it mediating some of the other features of getting wealthier.

But it does get to the urgency of making clean energy transitions as these prices come down. It is a better bet. And so again, when we have these exchanges on the Hill and it looks to some who are skeptical somehow still of climate programming, you know, that we’re bringing our green agenda to the countries in the communities we’re working in – no, it’s not like that at all.

They’re saying we can’t afford this other thing.

But actually, we can pop up a solar panel and have a water pump that we’ve been trying to get in this village. We can go off the grid in ways we never – where the state is not going to get here any time soon.

This was my experience out in Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, where USAID had worked to, you know, build a bunch of solar panels that powered electricity and ended up actually reducing tension between refugees who were being generously sheltered by Lebanese host communities, Syrian refugees, and the Lebanese.

Because they were no longer fighting over water because they had water because they had solar – but to attach to the grid, no way. And so then those tensions, who knows what would happen with that.

So the idea is that these investments are cost-effective over time, that actually you can develop, along the lines of what you’re describing, in a clean way.

I think the other aspects of consumption need to be dealt with as part of civic education and as part of norm work because it is true that in many, many societies, and again, including our own back in the day, as you increase your livelihoods, your income, consumables are a very attractive way to expand those new resources.

This feels like a high-class problem in most of the countries we’re talking about. I mean, I’m talking about working with small-scale farmers who are paying double this year for fertilizer than they were paying before Putin invaded Ukraine, who just need a little loan to be able to get access to some of those drought-resistant seeds that are going to increase yields by 25 percent.

But again, finding the resources to get them that. Getting the private sector interested in adaptation. But the question that we should be thinking now about, if we can be successful, if we can help them withstand the negative effects of climate change and the like here in America, grow jobs out of also these changes to their economies, then what?

Then we will be grappling with the kinds of things that have further fueled emissions in more recently developed countries.

MR. CAPEHART: As you alluded to many times, there’s a lot of good news related to the development of clean energy alternatives. That being said, though, global emissions once again hit a record high in 2022, and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen to levels not seen in millions of years. Are we moving in the wrong direction despite glimmers of hope?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Well, I mean, I think all of us can answer that question in two ways. And we talk to ourselves all day – on the one hand this, and on the other hand that. But what we can say is we’re certainly not moving fast enough. And you know what breaks my heart is, it’s a little bit like another version of the vicious cycle you were kind of describing.

But when you see the wildfires, and the rate of wildfires, and then all of the carbon emitted and all of the good that had been done with carbon emission reductions – and that being not washed away – whatever, smoked away, burned away – that’s heartbreaking because these investments are accelerating.

They are building momentum. So I think that, and that’s not the only thing that’s heartbreaking.

There’s so much that’s happening day to day and a little bit of the despondency, I think, setting in as well – as people just open the newspaper, and whether it’s in their own community or one further afield or even something like what happened in Libya, which just captures the imagination of, which was its own sui generis issue with regard to governance and infrastructure, but would not have happened that way but for the intensity of Storm Daniel, which is just being seen in so many communities.

But what I do think it’s important to come back to, at least as proof of concept, is that in Paris the projections – they were, we the world, were on a track to warm 4 degrees and we are now on a track to warm 2.5 degrees.

So that is a reflection of the agency that people have claimed over this trajectory. The problem is we need to curb warming at 1.5 degrees, but that delta from four to 2.5 should give people at least a sense that actually collectively we are doing things that are making a difference. There’s no doubt we are doing things that are making a difference.

If I could, though, I think the area that we have – I mean, as John Kerry likes to say, if we don’t get mitigation right and the carbon reductions right, there’ll be no planet to adapt. He makes a comment like that a lot.

We, at USAID, are in the mitigation and adaptation business, as is Secretary Kerry and his team. But I think in mitigation, what I think gives one hope is just how much the private sector has leaped in now recognizing that there’s money to be made. And I’d love to rely on people’s good intentions and their feeling of fellow humanity, but it’s much more reliable if they think there’s money to be made.

And that shift has occurred. And you see it in the IRA, which is already defying even the best projections and extrapolations that people did. I mean, this is going to have way more collateral effects and bring down carbon way more, I think, than people could have, just strictly speaking, anticipated because of a cascade now of private sector interest fueled and catalyzed by the underlying legislation.

And so too, as the prices come down again, there’s a virtuous cycle. Adaptation – we’re not we’re not there. And I don’t know if we’re ten years behind where we are on mitigation – where we are on mitigation.

Like it’s the same thing going to happen in ten years where we look back and say, oh, we lost all that time. Why couldn’t private-sector actors have seen as well that there’s good to be done and money to be made?

I guess if you have to think that way around the insurance industry in the agricultural sector, in Fintech, I mean, all these tools are going to be absolutely critical in particularly rural areas and those areas that are most vulnerable to climate change.

But about two percent of funding for adaptation comes from the private sector right now, and that has just got to change.

So President Biden and we have done a big call to action to the private sector, but it’s slow going. And even if you take – forget the specific sectors that have a direct nexus with the need to build resilience – look at it in even more stark terms. The market share that so many companies are hoping to capture is themselves going to have less money to spend, maybe in flight, maybe at war.

And so the positive of that is, hey, if we can help them adapt and be more resilient and where these emergencies happen, but don’t wallop communities in the same way and they bounce back, those are consumers that will be our consumers. But the negative is what if, you know, millions, tens of millions of consumers are taken offline because they are driven into poverty?

The predictions now are that 100 million more people driven into extreme poverty by 2030. But that’s within our hand, that adaptation. There’s so much less to, as I would say to my kids, there’s room to grow.

The areas that are the most troubling in some ways, there’s really room to grow. And you could see a cascade of the kind that we’ve seen on carbon mitigation.

MR. CAPEHART: Administrator Power, we got a minute and eight seconds and this will be the final question. The name of this conference is This is Climate: Women Leading the Charge. So how do you see women reshaping climate leadership?

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: We, USAID, and Amazon, the company, not the forest, launched a gender equality fund, a gender equity fund at COP, and we launched it with $6 million in funding. And this is for women.

It’s for projects that will benefit women, it’s for projects that are driven by women in adaptation or in mitigation – the whole or the protection of natural ecosystems – but things broadly in the climate space.

And today we have the Visa Foundation and Reckitt, a company out of the United Kingdom, who have joined us and matched that initial – USAID put in $3 million, Amazon put in $3 million, and have added $6 million.

Why do I mention this? It’s not a huge amount of money yet. We are going to get up to $60 million, we hope, in rapid order.

This is part of another cascade that we would like to see. We’ve put out a request for proposals, incredible women leaders are putting proposals in.

These can be small projects. A lot of the climate finance right now is not going to small projects, it’s going to big international organizations. So working more with local partners is going to be absolutely key.

But these are going to be the success stories that are going to inspire people to invest more and to believe that change can come. And sadly, there are just not that many examples of climate finance facilities that are targeted and tailored toward women, even though women are bearing the greatest brunt.

And women, I think, in my experience, are doing the most innovative work in dealing with the consequences of climate change and trying to lower those consequences in the years ahead.

MR. CAPEHART: Samantha Power, the 19th Administrator of USAID, thank you very much for joining us today.

SETGĦA TAL-AMMINISTRATUR: Thanks, Jonathan.

What is USAID?

USAID stands for the United States Agency for International Development. It is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. USAID’s mission is to promote economic and social development in countries around the world, with a particular focus on reducing poverty, promoting democracy, and addressing global challenges such as public health crises, environmental sustainability, and humanitarian crises.

Some of the key functions and activities of USAID include:

1. Providing humanitarian assistance: USAID responds to natural disasters, conflicts, and other emergencies by providing humanitarian aid, including food, shelter, and medical supplies, to affected populations.
2. Promoting economic development: USAID works to stimulate economic growth in developing countries by supporting projects and programs that create jobs, improve infrastructure, and foster private sector development.
3. Supporting democracy and governance: USAID promotes democratic governance by providing technical assistance and support for fair and transparent elections, strengthening civil society organizations, and advocating for human rights and the rule of law.
4. Advancing global health: USAID plays a crucial role in global health initiatives, including efforts to combat infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and COVID-19. It supports healthcare systems strengthening, family planning, and maternal and child health programs.
5. Environmental sustainability: USAID works to address environmental challenges, including climate change and natural resource management, through projects that promote conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture.
6. Education and capacity building: USAID invests in education and capacity-building programs to enhance the skills and knowledge of individuals and institutions in developing countries, thereby contributing to long-term development.
7. Food security and agriculture: USAID supports programs aimed at improving food security, increasing agricultural productivity, and reducing hunger and malnutrition in vulnerable populations.

USAID operates in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and other stakeholders to achieve its development goals. It is often involved in projects and initiatives that aim to alleviate poverty, promote stability, and enhance the well-being of people in countries where it operates. The agency’s work is guided by the foreign policy objectives of the United States and the broader goal of fostering global development and progress.