The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking feedback through this Request for Information (RFI) from entities interested in the attached Concept Paper for the USAID/Climate Finance Activity. This Activity will leverage and mobilize public and private finance to support Colombia’s climate adaptation and mitigation targets in key sectors.
Climate change is defined as long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns. Humandriven climate change is a global crisis, and it is disrupting ecological systems, affecting economic growth, and increasing poverty, conflict, and instability. In Colombia, increased intensity and duration of extreme weather events have negatively impacted communities, the economy, and the environment. For example, the 2010 La Niña caused Colombia to have economic losses equal to two percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is important to address and mitigate the effects of climate change in order to ensure that other development efforts are successful and sustainable.
Climate finance refers to the use of public and private funding sources, like government bonds and low-interest loans, to support climate mitigation and adaptation actions. USAID can leverage climate financing to increase funding in projects and businesses that address climate change and help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as called for under the Paris Agreement. Increasing different actors’ access to climate finance also helps countries advance their climate action plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts, otherwise known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). It does this by allowing countries to access funds needed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and decrease human and ecological systems’ vulnerability to climate change.
Response Due Date: Jan. 9, 2023