Administrator Samantha Power, as co-lead with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) John Kerry on implementation of the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), announced today at COP27 a global Call to Action for businesses to make new, significant commitments to building climate resilience in partner countries.
As part of this Call to Action launch during COP27, ten companies are announcing specific commitments that improve climate resilience for consumers and communities experiencing climate impacts first-hand. Commitments in support of this Call to Action include expansions of climate information and early warning systems, introduction of new financial products and services, innovations for climate-smart food systems, and paradigm-shifting insurance solutions. Initial companies to join the Call to Action include: Google, Gro Intelligence, Mastercard, Marsh McLennan, Meta, Microsoft, Pegasus Capital Advisors, PepsiCo., SAP, and WTW (formerly Willis Towers Watson).
PREPARE supports developing countries and communities in vulnerable situations around the world in their efforts to adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change. PREPARE activates a coordinated, whole-of-government approach and serves as the framework that brings together the diplomatic, development, and technical expertise of the United States and aims to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change by 2030.
President Biden has committed to working with Congress to provide $3 billion in annual adaptation financing for PREPARE by FY2024. The PREPARE Call to Action recognizes the urgent need for both private and public sector action to address long-standing gaps in climate adaptation that are contributing to intensifying climate impacts. It also acknowledges that progress on reducing emissions has stemmed in part from over a decade of public and private sector collaboration, and that strong collaboration with attention on the needs of local communities can drive further action on global climate resilience.
For these reasons, SPEC Kerry and Administrator Power call on the private sector to draw on its unique resources and expertise to support inclusive approaches to climate adaptation. Together, we can remove long-standing barriers to investment in adaptation and build a future in which communities are able to thrive, even in the face of climate change. The U.S. government is eager to collaborate with private companies – U.S., foreign, and local small and medium-sized enterprises – to build upon this Call to Action.
USAID, through its support to the Global Resilience Partnership, will manage the Call to Action, with input from the Office of the SPEC. Information on responding to the Call to Action can be found through the Global Resilience Partnership here.
For more information, please see USAID’s website on the PREPARE Call to Action to the Private Sector.