Gutting USAID Will Have a Monumental Effect on Combating Climate Change

Donald Trump's administration has all but shut down operations at the US Agency for International Development .

USAID distributes between $40 billion and $60 billion per year— almost a quarter of all global humanitarian aid.

By clawing back billions of dollars Congress has already committed to the fight against global warming, the US is poised to derail climate progress beyond its own borders.

USAID 's renewable energy efforts may be some of the most resilient to Trump ’s shock attack.

USAID has helped several countries design and hold renewable energy auctions.

The agency's spending on landscape conservation is less secure.

Zimbabwe 's minister for climate and the environment, Washington Zhakata , said that a shutoff of USAID funding will make it nearly impossible for the country to meet its Paris Agreement .

The US is still a member of the broader United Nations climate convention.

It will take a new administration and years of work to restore the flow of climate aid, assuming Congress votes to restore it.

Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement on his first day in office.