Rockville, Md.  – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has issued an award to an Abt-led team to help nations meet the climate commitments they made under the Paris Agreement. USAID’s $49 million five-year Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI) is the agency’s global flagship program to create actionable programs and policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. CACCI is designed to support nations in their implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) through technical and analytical support, capacity development, and inclusive and evidence-based policy dialogue.

Abt Associates will lead a team—comprised of Abt, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Purdue Applied Research Institute, and World Resources Institute (WRI)—to develop and implement tailored, bold climate policies in partnership with CACCI target countries. The predecessor program, originally launched at COP26, has supported 23 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to date, with plans to further expand under this follow-on program.

“Abt has spent decades working with municipalities to develop localized policy solutions, including in response to the climate crisis,” said Jenn Cisse, Abt’s Director for Climate Adaptation and Resilience. “Collectively—with IISD, Purdue, and WRI—this team has almost 100 years of experience supporting policy reforms and connecting stakeholders working on climate policy and action in more than 150 countries. We’re thrilled to harness this team’s know-how with that of our partner countries. We applaud USAID for their vision because activities of this scale are essential to ensuring global progress on climate adaptation and mitigation.”