Trump Attacks Climate Finance, FEMA, and Flood Standard

Finance:

• Global Climate Finance Imperiled by Trump

• European Investment Bank, Allianz GI Raise €450mn for Climate Fund

Policy:

• Trump Targets FEMA, Risking US Climate Resilience

• Trump Abolishes US Flood Standard Rule

Tech:

• Invest in “Value Chain-Wide” Adaptation Tech, says WEF

Research:

• Another round-up of papers and journal articles on all things climate adaptation

Global Climate Finance Imperiled by Trump

President Donald Trump took steps to freeze international climate finance flows from the US, likely throttling the supply of funds for adaptation and resilience to developing nations. 

The new president yanked the US out of the Paris Agreement on his first day in office and gave notice of the country’s withdrawal from “any agreement, pact, accord, or similar” made under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — including any “purported financial commitment[s]”. The order stopped short of announcing an exit from the UNFCCC itself, US membership of which was approved by the Senate in 1992. 

Trump further revoked the US International Climate Finance Plan, a Biden-era initiative to double overseas climate finance to US$11.4bn per year, including US$3bn for adaptation. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget has been instructed to advise on the “rescission of all frozen funds” by January 30. The Biden administration delivered US$9.5bn of international climate finance in 2023, and an estimated US$11bn in 2024 — including at least US$3bn for adaptation and resilience measures.

In addition, the US halted all foreign aid spending pending review. This includes millions pledged by USAID for overseas adaptation and resilience projects. “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The US exit from the Paris Agreement could make it collectively harder for countries to honor the US$300bn–a-year climate finance pledge agreed under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) at the last UN Climate Change Conference (COP). “It was already hard to get to US$300bn with the United States in the negotiation,” said André Corrêa do Lago, the newly appointed president of COP 30 — which is taking place in Belém, Brazil later this year (see below for more on Corrêa do Lago).

On the other hand, a policy analyst familiar with the finance negotiations says the US was not a major player in getting the NCQG over the line last year, suggesting its exit will not fundamentally reshape international climate finance negotiations going forward. A second analyst specializing in adaptation policy expects “strong emerging economies” to fill the vacuum left by the US when it comes to the finance talks. 

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a long-time climate advocate, said on Thursday that his philanthropy would cover the Trump-imposed funding gap to the UNFCCC and honor the US’ reporting commitments to the body. In 2024, the US paid nearly €11mn (US$11.6mn) into the UNFCCC budget. Bloomberg Philanthropies was the top non-state funder of the UNFCCC in 2024, contributing US$4.5mn.

European Investment Bank, Allianz GI Raise €450mn for Climate Fund

A €450mn (US$472mn) blended finance fund for climate adaptation and mitigation solutions in the developing world ended its raise and is poised to invest in around 150 projects across the globe. 

The Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund (EMCAF), set up by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Allianz Global Investors (GI), announced a final €20mn (US$21mn) contribution from the German government last week. The fund was first announced in 2021, with ambitions to raise €500mn for projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Investors include private financial institutions Allianz and Folksam and state-backed entities UK International Development, the Nordic Development Fund, and Germany’s KFW.

The EMCAF plans to allocate capital to 15 climate action funds supporting efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and address climate impacts. It already disbursed €100mn last year across four transactions, including for green infrastructure in emerging markets.

EMCAF’s portfolio includes a €15mn commitment to the ARCH Cold Chain Solutions East Africa Fund, which is financing temperature-controlled warehouse and logistics services across East Africa to fight food spoilage, a problem getting worse as the world continues to warm.

In Brief

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are investing £15mn (US$18.7mn) in the ‘Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change’ (MACC) program, which is focused on devising long-term solutions to the country’s exposure to climate risks. Projects under the program include restoring wetlands and forests, addressing climate-induced food price shocks, protecting urban spaces with nature-based solutions, and safeguarding vulnerable populations from heat. The financing will also support a climate adaptation hub, launched last year, that is building out the UK’s national climate change adaptation plan. (UK Research and Innovation)

The Canadian government announced over CAD$8.8mn (US$6.1mn) in funding for nine climate-proofing projects in Atlantic Canada as part of the Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) and the Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities (CRCC) Program. The financing will support adaptation strategies, the build out of tools and resource, and education and training of resilience practitioners. The announcement is part of a broader CAD$39.5mn (US$27.5mn) commitment under Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy to reduce climate impacts and support community-led resilience efforts nationwide. (Government of Canada)

Analysis presented at the annual World Economic Forum summit in Davos shows a significant increase in international climate and health financing, with commitments rising from less than US$1bn in 2018 to US$7.1bn in 2022. However, less than 35% of funding from bilateral donors reaches countries most impacted by climate change, and under 50% goes to low-income countries.  Bilateral donors are also investing more in climate-sensitive health projects, with the share of climate finance directed to the health sector increased from 1% in 2018 to 9% in 2022. (The Rockefeller Foundation)

Trump Targets FEMA, Risking US Climate Resilience

President Trump floated the abolition of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Friday, saying states should shoulder more of the financial burden of recovering from climate shocks like last year’s hurricanes and the ongoing Los Angeles fires.

“I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” Trump said in North Carolina during a briefing on Hurricane Helene, which battered the state last September, claiming over 100 lives and costing billions in losses.

“When you have a problem like this [a hurricane], I think you want to go, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA,” he added. “I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly — we pay a percentage to the state.”

Later that day, Trump signed an executive order establishing a FEMA Review Council to advise on the agency’s ability to “capably and impartially address disasters occurring within the United States.” The order claims, without citation, that “at least” one former FEMA responder was told to avoid helping individuals supporting the Trump campaign and that the agency spends “well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens.” FEMA’s own fact-checking website makes clear that humanitarian support for migrants is actually funded by the Department of Homeland Security via the Customs and Border Protection budget.

The new Council will evaluate whether FEMA “can serve its functions as a support agency, providing supplemental Federal assistance, to the States rather than supplanting State control of disaster relief”.

A drastic overhaul of the federal approach to disaster management is outlined in Project 2025 — a roadmap for a Republican administration authored by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. The document calls on states to shoulder 75% of the costs of small disasters, with the federal government taking the remainder. Following “truly catastrophic disasters”, the federal government’s share would be capped at 75%. 

Experts railed against the idea of FEMA’s elimination. “If we abolish federal funding for disaster assistance, municipalities and states wouldn’t be able to cover these types of catastrophic emergencies and people would be left to fend on their own,” said Shana Udvardy, senior climate resilience policy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Trump Abolishes US Flood Standard Rule

A rule created to harden federal assets against flood risks was scrapped by President Trump last week amid a slew of anti-climate executive orders. 

Last week, the president revoked a Biden-era order on monitoring and managing climate-related financial risk. This overturned the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) which Biden’s order had reinstated back in 2021. This standard required federally-funded infrastructure, like public housing, hospitals, and highways, to be built to a certain level of resilience against extreme floods and sea level rise. Trump rescinded the standard last time he was in office, too.

The FFRMS tells agencies to use up-to-date science to identify flood-prone areas. It also expands the definition of “floodplain” to account for the increased height and width of floods expected in the near future, with the idea being that fewer taxpayer-financed buildings will be washed away once rebuilt.

The standard was adopted by FEMA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development last year, which should require these agencies to adhere to the tougher siting and rebuilding rules regardless of the executive order. However, the standard could be unpicked by future rulemakings authorized by Trump’s appointees to the two agencies. Moreover, a proposal to embed the FFRMS in the US Department of Transportation is likely to be dropped by the new administration. 

“When federal funds are used to build, rebuild, or subsidize structures, the government has a responsibility to ensure those investments are safe, sustainable, and resilient for the entire design life. Otherwise, the federal government is setting up public infrastructure to be damaged by flooding and wasting taxpayer dollars,” wrote Joel Scata, Senior Attorney, Environmental Health, for the Natural Resources Defense Council last week.

In Brief

Brazil has appointed André Corrêa do Lago as president of COP 30, the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Belém later this year. A seasoned diplomat with long experience in climate and sustainable development, Corrêa do Lago will preside over the conference, supported by Ana Toni as executive director. Corrêa do Lago currently serves as Secretary for Climate and Environment of the Ministry of External Affairs, Brazil’s foreign ministry. (Govt Agency)

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont unveiled a legislative package aimed at strengthening the state’s resilience to extreme weather and climate impacts. The proposal responds to record-breaking rainfall and prolonged droughts experienced over the past two years, which have caused significant damage and loss of life across the state. Promised measures include strengthened flood insurance and risk disclosure requirements, expanded reviews for coastal developments, restrictions on state investments in high-risk flood areas, and the creation of Resiliency Improvement Districts to finance adaptation projects at the community level. The Governor is due to present his annual budget address, including these resiliency measures, at a joint session of Connecticut’s General Assembly on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. (Governor of Connecticut)

The Global Observatory for EWS (Early Warning Systems) Investments has received financing from the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Early Warnings for All Accelerator to support its work “tracking and tagging EWS-related investments.” The Observatory, co-created by the WMO and UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), identifies financing gaps for EWS in vulnerable regions, especially in the groups of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. It was launched in December 2024. (World Meteorological Organization)

UNICEF reports that the education of 242 million children across 85 countries was disrupted by extreme weather events in 2024. Heat waves were the top culprit, affecting over 118 million students in April alone. South Asia was the hardest-hit region, with temperatures exceeding 47°C in certain regions in May. Floods, storms, and droughts also interrupted schooling around the world, damaging infrastructure and leading to unsafe learning conditions. UNICEF says more climate-resilient education systems are needed, complete with disaster-resistant infrastructure and climate-smart learning facilities. (UNICEF)

Invest in “Value Chain-Wide” Adaptation Tech, says WEF 

Companies should embrace “value chain-wide” adaptation technologies to prepare and protect against worsening climate extremes, a new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) says.

This means working with upstream suppliers and downstream consumers to identify looming threats and gird against severe weather impacts and slow-onset climatic changes. “Vulnerability to climate change is not just about a company’s own exposure — it is also tied to the resilience of the entire value chain,” the report reads. “Most adaptation strategies are narrowly focused on individual organizations or regions, yet the ripple effects of climate change extend far further.”

Physical Climate Risks Threaten Value Chains In Five Dimensions

Tech can be deployed across value chains to address what the report calls the “three stages of the adaptation cycle”: comprehending risks and opportunities, building resilience against future impacts, and responding when climate impacts hit. Across all three, the report touts the usefulness of Earth Observation (EO) tech and drones for gathering intelligence on approaching climate shocks and directing resources where they are needed once they hit.

“Better access to climate and value chain data ensures more efficient planning, targeted resilience efforts and faster adaptation when risks materialize,” the report reads.

It recommends that companies join or create forums on adaptation within their value chain to encourage collaboration and set a standard language and metrics around the theme that all relevant stakeholders can adhere to. It also suggests partners in a value chain pool funds to support “large-scale climate solutions”, and consider sharing computer power and AI model training burdens to benefit the collective as a whole.

In Brief

The city of Seattle, Washington, has launched a Climate Innovation Hub focused on technologies that fight climate change and build resilience to its effects. A collaboration between the city, the University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs, nonprofit VertueLab, and global network 9Zero, the hub will support startups with funding, mentorship, and access to coworking spaces. Initial funding of US$285,000 will go toward a business and technology incubator and a gathering space for funders and investors co-located in University of Washington-owned real estate in downtown Seattle. (Seattle Office of the Mayor)

Insurer AXA XL has teamed up with London GreenCity, the UK’s first accelerator for development-stage climate tech entrepreneurs, to provide expertise in insurance and risk management. London GreenCity nurtures innovations in climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience — including in the agriculture and built environment spaces — and is able to offer members access to state-of-the-art machinery to advance their developments through its relationships with leading UK universities. (Axa)

RESEARCH

Imperatives and co-benefits of research into climate change and neurological disease (Nature Reviews Neurology)

Aging dams, political instability, poor human decisions and climate change: recipe for human disaster (npj Natural Hazards)

Increasing certainty in projected local extreme precipitation change (Nature Communications)

Spatiotemporal patterns of individual and multiple simultaneous severe weather events co-occurring with power outages in the United States, 2018–2020 (PLOS Climate)

Physical climate risk: Stock price reactions to the historically most extreme European and United States heat waves since 1979 (PLOS One)

Advancing Adaptation Action: Enhancing alignment between national adaptation plans and nationally determined contributions (NAP Global Network)

Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall
Editor