CARE’S CLIMATE CHANGE INNOVATION FUND
A young girl in Ethiopia tends to crops alongside other women from her village. Climate
change will exacerbate food shortages and malnutrition for poor communities worldwide
unless effective prevention and response strategies are put in place.
“Climate change is the defining human development challenge of the 21st Century.
Failure to respond to that challenge will stall and then reverse international efforts
to reduce poverty. The poorest countries and most vulnerable citizens will suffer the
earliest and most damaging setbacks, even though they have contributed least to the
problem.”
- United Nations 2007/2008 Human Development Report
Introduction
Well-documented increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, rising sea levels and
the widespread melting of glaciers all point to the same truth: the earth is warming. These
serious climatic changes are shifting seasons, altering rainfall patterns and triggering more
intense and frequent extreme weather, such as drought and cyclones, in many parts of the world.
There is significant evidence of these changes, and the consensus among experts is that people
are to blame.
Though they have contributed least to causing climate change, the world’s poorest people are
feeling the brunt of its impacts. This is especially true of those who rely on agriculture, livestock,
forestry or fisheries to make a living – and doubly true for impoverished women, children, and
others in marginalized social groups, who often live in environmentally vulnerable areas, have
tenuous livelihoods and less decision-making power. When extreme weather strikes, these
individuals typically suffer the worst consequences and – without economic assets or social
networks to fall back on – are least able to recover.
The effects of climate change on the day-to-day
lives of poor families are myriad. As
agricultural seasons shift, rainfall patterns
become more erratic, and the percentage of
arable land declines, more and more poor
communities will struggle to produce food.
Meanwhile, water shortages, already a critical
threat in many parts of the world, will worsen.
By 2020, the United Nations (UN) anticipates
that climate change could be directly responsible
for preventing as many as 250 million Africans
from getting enough water to meet their basic
needs. Changing temperatures will also
influence the transmission patterns of certain
diseases, such as malaria, expanding them to
areas that were previously unaffected. And,
climate change will exacerbate the risk of violent
conflicts as neighboring communities and
countries compete for diminishing resources.
CARE and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Recognizing that longstanding and new
threats are increasing the vulnerability of
ecosystems worldwide – and the people who
depend on these environments to survive –
CARE and WWF launched an ambitious new
institutional alliance in 2008. The alliance
brings together two of the largest
representatives of the conservation and
development worlds to find new ways to
meld poverty-fighting and environmental
conservation efforts. CARE and WWF are
already working together on the ground in
northern Mozambique to help coastal
communities protect the area’s unique
biodiversity while developing more diverse,
sustainable, and profitable livelihoods.
Moving forward, we aim to expand this
work to other countries in Africa and
eventually worldwide.
CARE recognizes the threat that climate change poses to our vision of a world of hope, tolerance
and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security. If
unchecked, it will undermine decades of poverty-fighting programs and the hard-won victories
of vulnerable communities worldwide. To prevent this, CARE is working at grassroots, national
and international levels to help the communities we serve reduce their vulnerability to climate
change and advocate for fair and effective policy responses. Tackling climate change requires the
combined efforts of many different actors, each with a distinct role to play. In line with our
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expertise, CARE is specifically focused on developing pro-poor approaches to address the human
face of climate change; we are responding to the needs of those individuals and communities who
are most affected by and least able to cope with the consequences of global warming. Building
on more than six decades of experience working with poor communities worldwide, CARE’s
approach to climate change is unique in that it focuses specifically on helping extremely poor
households to adapt to and thrive in changing environments.
Climate change has implications for a broad span of
CARE’s programs – from agriculture, emergency relief
and health to economic development and peace-building.
Because of its significance and wide-reaching impact on
our work, CARE recently established a Climate Change
Innovation Fund to support our on-the-ground
programming, research, innovation and advocacy around
climate change. The flexible nature of the Fund enables
CARE to invest money to meet the most pressing
programmatic needs, such as launching new climate
change initiatives, developing innovative solutions,
building partnerships and learning from our experiences.
All contributions to the Fund will be used to support our
work in one or more of the following areas:
1. Helping poor families to adapt to the effects of
climate change;
2. Making carbon markets work for the poor; and
3. Advocating for reductions in carbon emissions
and increased resources for vulnerable
communities to adapt to climate change.
In Mali, Workia Konake shows off okra
and corn seeds that she is about to plant.
One of the ways that CARE helps
communities to adapt to climate change is
by introducing more resilient crops and
agricultural technologies that reduce
farmers’ susceptibility to changing
weather patterns.
During the initial phase of the Fund, our primary focus
will be on helping vulnerable households to develop
sustainable, resilient livelihoods that increase food and
economic security, while conserving land and water resources. This includes investing in the
design and implementation of on-the-ground programming, the development of innovative
tools, internal capacity building, and research and advocacy.
This proposal for DONOR NAME describes the types of programs supported by the fund,
according to each of the three focus areas identified above. We invite DONOR NAME to
contribute her/his/their/its generous support to the Climate Change Innovation Fund so that
CARE can continue to advocate for vulnerable communities worldwide and help them to
mitigate, prepare for and respond to the consequences of climate change.
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Programs Supported by the Fund
The Climate Change Innovation Fund will support CARE’s work in the following areas:
I. COMMUNITY BASED ADAPTATION
Community-based adaptation (CBA)
aims to reduce the harmful
consequences of climate change for
individuals, households and
communities. It targets the most
vulnerable populations and focuses
on activities that yield the biggest
“bang for the buck.” A simple
example of CBA is supporting
households in Bangladesh to raise
ducks rather than chickens, as ducks,
being swimmers, have a significantly
higher chance of surviving heavy
monsoon floods.
Evidence demonstrates that climate change is altering annual
monsoon patterns in South Asia. Here, Sharikon, a 10-year-old
resident of Chawhara, Bangladesh, stands by the remains of her
home, which was destroyed during a monsoon. CARE is helping
people like Sharikon to better adapt to and protect themselves from
the effects of climate change.
CBA is a long-term process based on
local priorities. It marries cuttingedge climate science with local
knowledge, and it increases people’s
sense of security and hope for the
future. CARE has been a leading developer and proponent of CBA since 2004. Our perseverance
is beginning to pay off, as CBA is now widely endorsed by the UN, World Bank and others as an
essential part of a global response to climate change. CARE’s approach to community-based
adaptation entails:

Reducing the risk of disasters: Climate change is magnifying the risk of natural disasters
everywhere, but especially in those parts of the world where there are already high levels of
human vulnerability. Establishing early warning systems, improved shelters, and food and
seed banks are therefore critical to reducing the risk of disasters and minimizing their longterm consequences. Doing so pays off: for every dollar that CARE invests in disaster risk
reduction (DRR) and preparedness, many more dollars are saved in disaster response.

Making livelihoods more resilient: Of course, adaptation to climate change entails more
than dealing with its catastrophic impacts. Though violent storms and other extreme events
grab newspaper headlines, incremental changes – such as higher temperatures and chaotic
rainfall patterns – pose an even bigger threat to poor people. Therefore, it is particularly
important for CARE to help communities and local institutions to make rural livelihoods
more resilient to climate variability and slow-onset changes. This involves, for example,
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rejuvenating appropriate traditional knowledge,1 promoting innovative agricultural practices
and/or diversifying income sources.

Strengthening local capacity: Local
actors already have many of the skills,
experiences and relationships needed
to counter the impacts of climate
change. However, to make good use
of these assets, they need additional
training to understand climate risks,
identify appropriate adaptation
measures and integrate this
knowledge into planning and
decision-making processes.

Breaking down entrenched inequities
and discriminatory power structures:
Low levels of formal schooling, limited
access to information, political
marginalization and a lack of decisionmaking power within their households
and communities are among the most
serious constraints on poor people’s
adaptive capacity. Entrenched
inequities and discriminatory power
structures must be addressed if poor
people are to find their own solutions
to climate change. CARE is tackling
these issues by empowering women,
enabling vulnerable groups to
participate in local decision-making,
insisting on transparent governance
and full accountability, and ensuring
equitable access to resources and
essential services such as health and
education.
Adaptation to the Impact of Rapid Glacier Retreat
in the Tropical Andes Project (PRAA)
Recent scientific studies indicate that the glaciers of
the upper Andes have retreated at the alarming
average rate of almost 1 percent annually over the
last 30 years. Temperature increases are reducing
ice cover and glacial run-off, which is critical to the
preservation of high-altitude ecosystems and to the
survival of surrounding communities. In addition
to affecting mountain ecosystems, climate change
in the Andes and the consequent retreat of glaciers
is already beginning to affect the water supplies of
big cities in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. CARE’s
PRAA project, which is supported in part by the
World Bank, helps local communities and
governments in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru to
monitor glacier retreat, ensure that the impact of
glacier retreat is recognized and incorporated into
local and regional planning, raise awareness about
this issue at local, regional, national and
international levels, and help affected communities
to develop and implement adaptation plans to deal
with the effects of retreating glaciers.
In Ecuador, for example, CARE’s Aja Shuar project is working with members of the Shuar indigenous group in
the Amazonian region of the country to revive indigenous agricultural practices that have been threatened by
migration and loss of habitat. The project is encouraging the expansion of ajas - small gardens packed with a
large diversity of medicinal and edible plants. The benefits of the ajas are numerous; in addition to preserving
cultural practices, the farms offer excellent and diverse sources of nutrition, ensure the conservation of rare plant
species and offer families sustainable sources of food and income.
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Further Learning and Innovation
CARE continues to break down the barriers that prevent poor people from adapting to climate
change. For instance, we have spent two years developing and field testing a climate
vulnerability and capacity analysis (CVCA) tool. The CVCA generates detailed information about
livelihoods, climate risks and adaptive capacity, so that communities, governments and
organizations can understand the local impacts of climate change and plan an effective response.
We are also building on our experience implementing people-centered CBA projects by
developing large-scale regional learning programs. For example, CARE aims to launch our
African Adaptation Learning Program with a $10 million grant from the UK Department for
International Development (DfID). Throughout its five-year duration, the program will work
with highly vulnerable communities in six sub-Saharan countries where the impacts of climate
change are projected to be particularly high. The results-oriented activities supported by this
program will provide a wealth of insights into what works, who benefits, and how future
activities by CARE and others can be even more effective in responding to the threats of climate
change.
All of CARE's learning programs function as incubators and test-beds for groundbreaking ways
to design, implement, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of projects. They also demonstrate
the complementary roles that national governments, local authorities and civil society can play in
helping the most vulnerable people adapt to climate change.
II. MAKING CARBON FINANCE MECHANISMS WORK FOR POOR PEOPLE
In 1992, governments around the world adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC). Initiated in 1994 with over 150 signatories, the UNFCCC entailed
specific commitments by industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions to 1990 levels by 2000. The Kyoto Protocol, which came into effect in February 2005,
set slightly more ambitious targets. It aimed for a 5 percent reduction below 1990 greenhouse gas
emissions levels by 2012. More important than these numbers, the Kyoto Protocol introduced a
“framework for market-based management of the global atmosphere.” As such, 2005 marked the
birth of a global carbon market.
Both compliance and voluntary carbon markets have subsequently taken off. Although
dominated by the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the European
Union’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), the compliance market includes the Kyoto Protocol’s
Joint Implementation (JI) scheme and Australia’s New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement
Scheme (GGAS). Regional greenhouse gas abatement schemes have also been established in the
United States, and it is likely that a nationwide program will soon come into effect. Meanwhile,
many individuals and small businesses not bound by specific caps or regulations participate in
the voluntary market.
As a result, enormous amounts of money are being mobilized to reduce GHG emissions. Indeed,
more than $10 billion changed hands in 2005, while this figure grew to $30 billion in 2006, $60
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billion in 2007, and is expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2025. Today, more than 1,150 projects
have been approved under the CDM, but only six are in Sub-Saharan African countries other
than South Africa. Despite vast potential, only a few projects directly contribute to poverty
reduction.
Carbon Finance: Potential to Support Improved Land and Forest Management
Roughly two-thirds of all ecosystem services are in decline worldwide.2 This poses a profound
threat to the UN Millennium Development Goals – especially those pertaining to hunger, water,
child mortality and disease.3 The loss of forest ecosystems and their services is particularly grave.
Between 2000 and 2005, roughly 13 million hectares of forest were cut down each year.4 In
addition to directly reducing biodiversity and increasing barriers to sustainable poverty
reduction, deforestation and forest degradation contribute to climate change. Land-use change is
responsible for 18-30 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.5 This contribution is the
largest of any single sector, with the possible exception of electricity and home heating.
The conclusion is inescapable: if humanity fails to change the way it values and manages forest
landscapes, we will lose the fight to avoid dangerous climate change. Indeed, deforestation in
Brazil and Indonesia alone are likely to cancel out 80 percent of all gains achieved if
industrialized nations meet their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.6
Meanwhile, degraded landscapes have tremendous potential to sequester carbon in soils and
vegetation. For instance, there are roughly 1 billion hectares of farmland in developing countries
that could be made far more productive – and more resilient to the impacts of climate change –
through conversion to agroforestry systems. This would make a tremendous contribution to
reducing poverty while safely sequestering carbon. If completely implemented over the next 50
years, the expansion of agroforestry systems could result in the removal of 50 billion tons of CO2
from the atmosphere.
CARE has been at the cutting-edge of organizations exploring how to tap carbon finance in
support of poor people’s development and adaptation goals for the past 20 years. We continue to
be a leader in this field – both in terms of learning how to maximize community benefits and
minimize risks.
One component of our work involves preventing emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD). CARE is developing REDD programs in Guatemala, Tanzania, and
The Board, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well
Being. Available online at: http://www.milleniumassessment.org/en/synthesis.aspx.
3 The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are focused on significantly reducing extreme poverty by
2015. To learn more, visit: www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
4 United Nations. 2008. The Millennium Development Goals Report. New York: United Nations.
5 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2000. Land-use, Land-use Change, and Forestry: a Special Report of the
IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available online at:
http://www.grida.no/Climate/ipcc/land_use/index.htm.
6 Santilli, M. et al. 2005. “Tropical Deforestation and the Kyoto Protocol.” Climate Change. 71:267-276. Available
online at: http://www.edf.org/documents/4867_Santillietal_ClimateChange.pdf.
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Uganda, all of which are working with local
communities to conserve existing forests, while
enabling households to develop sustainable
livelihoods. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation, these
model projects will demonstrate that carbon
financing for REDD can, and in many cases should, be
designed to simultaneously yield multiple social,
economic and ecological benefits. Ultimately, CARE
aims to support the replication of similar initiatives
on a global scale.
Another example of our forest-based carbon finance
work is the Communities, Conservation and Carbon (C3)
Initiative, which CARE is implementing in
partnership with the World Agroforestry Center
(ICRAF). The C3 Initiative aims to use the land’s
ability to absorb and retain carbon in diverse,
productive agroforestry systems to support poverty
reduction, conservation and climate change mitigation.
As part of an integrated sustainable agriculture
system, agroforestry diversifies the asset-base of poor
households and, in doing so, enhances both their
income and food security. These systems can also
help communities to adapt to climate change as
carbon-rich soils store more water, and trees are less
vulnerable to drought, floods and other forms of
extreme weather than conventional crops. This
method also reverses land and soil degradation while
increasing biodiversity.
CARE’s Mi Bosque Program in
Guatemala
With the support of AES Corporation,
CARE initiated a project in Guatemala
called Mi Bosque (“My Forest”) in 1989 to
understand the potential of carbon
sequestration to slow or reduce the
amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. Over two decades, Mi
Bosque has worked to promote
community forestry development and
the sustainable management of natural
resources. Within the last two years
alone, Mi Bosque worked with more than
2,000 community members to reforest
239,833 hectares across132 communities.
Over the past nine years, Mi Bosque has
replanted 10.8 million trees. The benefits
to local communities have been
substantial. As a result of improved
agroforestry systems, the average plot of
land in the project area has experienced a
150 percent increase in productivity and
the amount of revenue generated.
Below, community members are being
trained on the production of silver fir
trees.
Through the C3 Initiative, CARE and ICRAF are
collaborating to:
1. Create a suite of tools that communities
worldwide can use to develop and implement
afforestation/ reforestation projects; and
2. Implement model projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The toolbox will include a cost-effective carbon measurement and monitoring system that will
integrate community-collected measurements with satellite remote sensing. In addition, the
toolbox will provide detailed information about the use of different species (and combinations) in
agroforestry systems to address location-specific challenges (e.g. poor soil quality or erosion) and
household-specific needs (e.g. fuel, fodder or fruits). Project managers and community members
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will use the toolbox to develop agroforestry systems that offer the best possible combination of
benefits to local residents.
Carbon finance: Potential to Provide Energy for the Poor
Carbon markets also offer potential to provide increasing numbers of vulnerable families with
access to clean energy. Currently, some 2
Expanding Clean Energy in Uganda
billion people worldwide do not have access
to clean, safe cooking fuels.7 This
Currently, 91 percent of Ugandans use inefficient
contributes to economic, health and
kerosene lamps for lighting and nearly 90 percent
environmental problems, including
of rural families cook with firewood. This
deforestation, and places an enormous
contributes to the country’s extremely high rate
burden on poor families. In southern India,
of deforestation (the country lost about 26
for example, families (primarily women and
percent of its forest from 1995 to 2005). There is
children) typically spend two to six hours
proven demand for clean energy products among
each day traveling distances of four to eight
Ugandan families, and CARE aims to expand
kilometers to collect wood.8 Poor people
access to these technologies. We will build on
generally live in some of the most
our network of well-established village savings
ecologically vulnerable areas of the world
and loan associations (VSLAs) - small, selfand feel the effects of climate change most
managed groups comprised primarily of women.
CARE currently works with 100,000 VSLA
acutely. These effects are only exacerbated
members
in Uganda – a number that is expected
by the depletion of natural resources, as, for
to reach half a million in the next decade. VSLAs
example, deforestation worsens erosion and
provide both a means to finance clean energy
increases people’s vulnerability to severe
products and to promote their wide distribution.
storms and flooding. While poor
For this proposed initiative, CARE’s role will be
households may recognize that the
to
identify feasible clean energy products, recruit
depletion of resources increases their risk,
and train local distributors, provide information
they typically have no other alternative.
necessary for earning carbon credits on sales,
guarantee investor risk and local distributor
trade credit, and link distributors to VSLAs.
CARE will also supervise the supply chain of the
VSLA networks so that products are made
available to large numbers of consumers, sellers
and buyers are properly informed of the nature
and use of the product, there is transparency
about price and, after sales, consumers have
access to part replacement if necessary.
Clean, affordable cooking and lighting
energy products reduce or eliminate the use
of fossil fuels and firewood, emit less or no
smoke and have a lower cost of ownership
over time. When made available to poor
households, these products offer enormous
benefits, as they can free up time for school
and income-generating activities; curb
deforestation; expand business
opportunities and the growth of local economies; improve the quality of schools, clinics and other
public institutions; and reduce disease (respiratory infections caused by smoke output from
traditional stoves are a leading cause of death among children under 5 in many countries).
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8
UK Department for International Development (DFID), August 2002. Energy for the Poor.
Ibid.
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CARE has significant experience
introducing clean energy products in
vulnerable communities. In Darfur, Sudan,
for example, CARE introduced fuel-efficient
stoves to reduce demand on the region’s
scant supply of firewood – a source of
communal tension and violence. In
Rwanda, CARE has trained women,
orphans and vulnerable children to build
energy-saving stoves to reduce
deforestation and provide a source of
income for participants. Likewise, in Peru,
CARE has successfully trained families to
In Uganda, Davula Olobo uses an energy-saving stove that
build improved stoves to reduce acute
she learned to build with CARE’s help.
respiratory infections among children.
CARE is now exploring the possibility of generating carbon credits through the expansion of
clean energy products in poor communities. We have identified Uganda as a feasible location for
this pilot, as described in more detail in the text box on page 9.
III. ADVOCACY
To make a lasting impact on global poverty, CARE
CARE Brings U.S. Citizens to Capitol Hill
works on three fronts: meeting basic needs;
addressing the social injustice, inequity, and
In June 2008, some 400 citizen advocates
discrimination that underlie persistent poverty;
from 39 states visited Washington, D.C. to
and advocating for improved policies at local,
lobby Congress on three key issues for
national, and international levels. Policy advocacy
CARE, including climate change. They
held 241 meetings with their members of
is the essential third leg of the tripod without
Congress, during which they asked their
which our work to reduce the effects of climate
senators and representatives to give poor
change and fight poverty cannot be effective or
countries the tools they need to adapt to the
complete. CARE works in the centers of power
climate crisis.
around the world, including Washington, D.C.,
where leaders set climate change and
development policies and define parameters for use of government resources. The U.S. has an
opportunity to demonstrate global leadership by bringing about critical policy changes that
would reduce the impact of climate change on the world’s poorest people – and therefore
strengthen their efforts to live better lives. U.S. policy priorities and resource commitments also
have a strong “signaling” effect – to both other foreign donors and recipient countries about what
the U.S. considers priorities.
CARE is valued in Washington and around the world for our long-term development perspective
based on our decades of experience fighting global poverty. We have developed climate change
policy positions and advocacy arguments by tapping into our experience working with some of
the world’s poorest people. CARE is leveraging this experience to raise the profile of the human
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face of climate change, and in doing so, we are adding a new, unique and credible voice to the
climate change policy discussion.
CARE’s U.S. climate change advocacy objectives call on the U.S. Administration and Congress to
commit to domestic legislation that:




Establishes sustainable and immediate reductions in domestic greenhouse gas emissions,
in line with scientifically sound targets;
Supports the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in
developing countries (representing approximately 20 percent of man-made carbon
dioxide emissions) in a manner that protects the rights and interests of forest-dependent
communities;
Sets aside a robust portion of generated revenues – as new and additional funding, above
and beyond official development assistance – to support adaptation in developing
countries vulnerable to climate change; and
Ensures that adaptation funding reaches the poorest, most vulnerable populations.
In addition to meeting directly with legislators, CARE is working with allies to expand the social
movement on climate change within the U.S. We are collaborating with partners, including other
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies, to sponsor community events and
trainings in the U.S. to educate and mobilize citizen advocates to meet with their members of
Congress.
At the international level, CARE is working with
allies to raise the profile of the human face of
climate change in global negotiations on a post2012 climate treaty. CARE participates in meetings
of the Conference of the Parties to the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change, and
in doing so ensures that the needs of the world’s
poorest are recognized during these negotiations.
In December 2008, at the 14th meeting of the
Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, CARE and
other NGOs called on members to honor the rights
of people most vulnerable to climate change.
Contributing to Climate Change Research
In August 2008, CARE and UN’s Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
released a joint report on the humanitarian
implications of climate change. The report
maps specific hazards associated with
climate change, such as floods, cyclones
and drought, and identifies regions most
vulnerable to climate change over the next
20-30 years. This helps policymakers,
donors, and organizations like CARE make
more strategic funding choices. The report
reveals key humanitarian disaster
hotspots, including Africa, Central and
South Asia and Southeast Asia. CARE
presented the paper to key policymakers in
Washington, D.C., and we are using it to
change the way we do our own business.
We are also working on the ground in the
communities we serve to promote local and
national climate change advocacy. For example, in
Uganda, which has one the highest deforestation
rates in the world, the government has been giving
forest land away to powerful corporations. Forests
are being cleared for profit. This has led to soil
erosion, which combined with drought, is diminishing the ability of small farmers to grow food.
CARE is working with women in Uganda to stop rampant deforestation and change national
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policies. We believe that people in poor communities are crucial allies in managing a situation
that ultimately affects us all.
Funding Need
CARE’s initial funding goal for the Climate Change Innovation Fund is $xx million. Donors
who support this fund will receive annual reports from CARE on how their contributions have
been used to support climate change programming and advocacy around the world.
Conclusion
Climate change is an imminent threat to poor people in the developing world and has the
potential to reverse decades of progress. As one of the world’s leading poverty-fighting
organizations, CARE takes this threat very seriously. We know that we are helping millions of
people live better lives. We cannot – we must not – be satisfied, however, unless we know these
improvements will stand the test of time. For this reason, investments in our climate change
response work are critically needed. On behalf of the communities we serve, we thank DONOR
NAME for considering a gift to the Climate Change Innovation Fund.
May 2009
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