A GAO report says the U.S. needs more detailed information to ensure accountability over funding to help Indo-Pacific countries and territories address climate risks. Reading time: 6 minutes. 0 Low-lying countries and territories in the Indian and Pacific oceans are among the most vulnerable places in the world to the threats of climate change. To mitigate those threats, U.S. agencies provided $1.9 billion to parts of the vast region between fiscal years 2017 and 2023. The funding went to a range of activities related to solar energy, reforestation, hazard reduction, coral reef and mangrove health. But the Department of State and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency do not track data on award amounts by location because the activities are not budgeted for a specific country. A report released last month concludes that needs to change. Twelve U.S. agencies provided about $1.9 billion across 477 activities to address climate risks the Indo-Pacific from 2017 through 2023. “By having data that is more precise and readily available, agency officials and policymakers would be better able to ensure the accountability of U.S. funding and make informed decisions about future resource needs,” according to the report by the U.S. Government Accountability Project. The report’s release comes as rising seas, coral bleaching, drought and more frequent natural disasters are growing in severity, especially for countries and U.S. territories in the Indo-Pacific. It’s estimated that 70% of natural disasters occur in the region. Many of the areas have close ties to HawaiĘ»i, including the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau, which have seen tens of thousands of their residents migrate to the U.S. in part because of climate change. The $1.9 billion also went to the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. Bangladesh and the Maldives […]