Climate Change and the Global Efforts to Fight Back

Climate change is a phenomenon that is affecting the entire world. The Earth has gradually gotten warmer, as global temperatures have risen 2 degrees Fahrenheit between 1850 and 2023. This has led to changes in precipitation patterns, sea levels rising due to massive glaciers melting, and increased severity of extreme weather. Changing precipitation patterns and rising sea levels have increased both flooding and drought across the globe. Increased flooding conditions put human lives at risk and result in significant infrastructure damage. Meanwhile, drought conditions severely reduce water quality and harm both food security and agriculture. 

Human health is also put at a higher risk due to climate change. For starters, increased heat conditions put humans, especially farmers, at risk of heat-related health issues like heat stroke and heart attacks. As sea levels continue to rise, hurricanes become more frequent and powerful. In drier areas experiencing drought, the risk for wildfires increases exponentially. Flooding also increases the likelihood of chemical hazards, waterborne diseases, injuries, and death as well. As global climate change advances, the threat it poses to human life, infrastructure, and the natural world looms.

Global issues like climate change require global action, diplomacy, and cooperation. One of the most notable climate agreements is the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which was a legally binding international agreement on climate change. Currently, 194 participating nations are all working toward a common goal – to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” To do this, participating countries must submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), where each country communicates its domestic goals and commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

While the Paris Agreement and each participating country’s NDCs lay out the blueprint for effective greenhouse gas reduction efforts, the proper implementation of these commitments requires a strong aid relationship between developed countries and developing countries. Within the Paris Agreement, Article 9 requires developed countries to provide aid resources to developing countries to ensure that every participating country has the means to meet their NDCs and general pollution mitigation obligations. The United States was formerly one of the participating developed nations that provided significant aid to the developing nations within the Paris Agreement. 

However, in January 2025, the Trump Administration pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement completely. A year later, in January 2026, the Trump Administration withdrew the United States from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Not only did the Trump Administration halt the United States’ efforts toward the fight against global climate change, but it also significantly reduced its international assistance and foreign aid efforts across the board when the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was effectively shut down.

The Dissolution of USAID and Its Impacts on the Fight Against Climate Change

Since 1961, USAID has provided humanitarian assistance and promoted the economic growth and self-resilience of developing countries around the world. Despite receiving minimal funding from the federal budget, the United States has been the most vital and influential donor to international development and humanitarian aid. For example, in 2023, the United States provided over $55 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA), which overshadowed virtually every other donor worldwide.

While providing 30% of all ODA within the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the United States has only spent 0.24% of its Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA. With how underfunded, yet effective, U.S. foreign aid is, simply meeting the UN-determined goal of 0.7% of GNI toward foreign aid would have revolutionary impacts. Instead, the Trump Administration passed an executive order in January 2025, which effectively suspended all existing foreign aid programs through USAID. Two months later, it was announced that 83% of programs run through USAID would be cancelled altogether. This measure is projected to have disastrous effects on the world. The Lancet published a study that predicts that 14 million people will die by 2030 as a result of losing USAID-funded aid. This includes the deaths of roughly 4.5 million children aged less than five years old. 

USAID once included several vital aid programs targeted toward helping developing nations fight global climate change. One of these programs was “The President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience”, which was a Biden-era measure to invest $61 million toward assisting developing nations in their efforts toward meeting NDCs and achieving climate resilience. Additionally, USAID’s “Sustainable Investment Accelerator” was a flagship program aimed at increasing investments in emerging economies toward climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Its main goal was to galvanize $2.5 billion in investments toward these efforts. Lastly, the “Scaling up Renewable Energy” initiative assisted developing countries with setting up carbon-neutral economies through effective planning, procurement, and grid reliance strategies.

All three of these programs, along with virtually every former USAID program, have either been defunded, suspended, or completely cancelled.

The Solution: The Alliance for American Leadership’s Two Penny Pledge

While the United States has effectively removed itself from the global fight against climate change through sweeping global aid cuts and diplomatic isolation, young advocates have provided a glimmer of hope. As a volunteer at the Alliance for American Leadership, I, along with hundreds of other volunteers across the nation, have had the opportunity to learn about the importance of American humanitarian aid and international assistance. Furthermore, we have come together to fight for the reformation of global aid and the restoration of American geopolitical leadership. 

Recently, the Alliance for American Leadership developed the Two Penny Pledge, which calls on the federal government to commit two percent of the federal budget toward diplomacy, development, and humanitarian assistance in Fiscal Year 2028. Before its dissolution, USAID was less than 1% of the federal budget. Yet, 90 million lives were saved, and over a billion people were lifted out of poverty through famine relief, healthcare, education, and economic development. If the federal budget increased its foreign aid and humanitarian assistance spending to two percent, American global aid and leadership would have revolutionary effects across the world. 

In the fight against climate change, the Two Penny Pledge would equip developing nations with the resources needed to meet domestic and international climate goals and objectives. Furthermore, increased American global aid availability would give international climate treaties and agreements the opportunity to set loftier mitigation and decarbonization goals. 

While the Two Penny Pledge is still in its infancy, several congressional candidates endorsed by the Alliance for American Leadership, both challengers and incumbents, have signed onto the pledge. This includes Lois Frankel, Adrian Boafo, Shevrin Jones, Elijah Manley, and Nina Schwalbe. To say that the Two Penny Pledge has serious potential is an understatement. However, continued advocacy, grassroots organizing, and effective communication are needed to make the Two Penny Pledge a reality by 2028. In a world where the Two Penny Pledge comes to fruition, resolving global issues like climate change becomes closer to reality, and American aid and leadership would pave the way.