Event Summary
In the first week of January 2026, the United States government announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and several other international organizations, citing misalignment with U.S. national interests. This decision marks a significant shift away from multilateral cooperation on climate change, environmental governance, and global development. Given the United States’ historical role as a major financial contributor and political supporter of UN-led processes, the withdrawal is expected to have far-reaching implications for civil society organizations (CSOs), particularly those engaged in climate action, environmental justice, human rights, and sustainable development.
For countries such as Zambia, where civil society plays a key role in supporting climate resilience, governance, and community-based development, the withdrawal raises concerns about reduced access to funding, weakened advocacy platforms, and declining international support for inclusive climate governance. According to the Zambia Monitor, in 2024, the Governing Board of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) had approved Zambia’s Nature, People, and Climate Investment Plan (ZNPCI), allocating US$34.65 million to fund nature-based solutions addressing climate change impacts in Central, Copperbelt, and North-Western Provinces. This funding was received from UNFCCC-linked climate funds (Green Climate Fund, GEF, LDCF, CIF.) The US withdrawal from this can reduce the amount received in the years to come and reduce local CSO funding in Zambia. The US withdrawal from the UNFCCC comes at a time when Zambian CSOs are already facing constrained civic space, limited domestic funding, and increasing dependence on external donors to sustain climate, governance, and development programming. Reduced multilateral resources are likely to disproportionately affect Zambian organizations, particularly grassroots and community-based CSOs, which have limited access to alternative international funding and rely on UN-supported mechanisms to elevate local climate concerns to regional and global policy arenas.