Media CenterCRS Praises Administration's Climate Adaptation Funding Commitment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Nikki Gamer
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(978) 884-0003
 

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, April 23, 2021 – In response to the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan, which was announced during the White House’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate, Bill O’Keefe, executive vice president for Mission, Mobilization and Advocacy at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), released the following statement:

"We're energized by the administration's pledge to triple U.S. funding for climate adaptation by 2024 as part of its international climate finance plan. We see this commitment as a clear sign the administration recognizes the plight of the world's most vulnerable people in countries like Bangladesh, Kenya and Honduras—where communities that are the least responsible for the climate crisis are suffering its impacts most acutely. Everyday CRS and its local church partners see widespread suffering by tens of millions of people around the world from the direct impacts of climate change. An increase in climate adaptation resources will help vulnerable populations in countless ways, from helping disaster-prone communities cope with more frequent and deadly storms, to aiding small farmers as they deal with the realities of more prolonged droughts. 

 American leadership is absolutely necessary to tackle this critical global issue.

What's especially noteworthy is the administration's commitment to engage Congress in this plan, which will help ensure the funding will become a reality. CRS supports bilateral and multilateral climate investments and will continue to engage both sides of the aisle to support programs like the Green Climate Fund.

If we’ve learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we’re all interconnected and interdependent. And we all have a role to play in each other's well-being. As Pope Francis said during his remarks at the Summit, we must all work together to care for nature, ‘so nature will care for us.'”

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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