Global Climate Resilience Act of 2026

This bill aims to provide debt reduction for developing countries to enhance their resilience to extreme weather events and slow-onset climate disasters. It amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish eligibility criteria for countries, requiring them to be low, lower-middle, or upper-middle income, or small island developing states, with democratically elected governments and no gross human rights violations. Crucially, eligible countries must develop plans for resilience activities , preventative disaster risk reduction, or recovery efforts, with preference given to plans involving local communities and addressing inequalities. The legislation grants the President authority to reduce debt owed to the United States from foreign assistance loans. It also enables the President to facilitate debt-for-resilience swaps , where debt is reduced in exchange for a country's commitment to climate resilience activities, and permits debt buybacks by eligible countries for the same purpose. Furthermore, the bill mandates that U.S. Executive Directors at various international financial institutions advocate for policies that reduce or restructure the debt load of highly vulnerable countries, including debt forgiveness and debt-for-resilience swaps. Finally, the bill directs U.S. representatives to the World Bank to advocate for the creation of a parametric international climate insurance program . This program would provide immediate financial assistance to eligible countries for recovery needs following natural disasters, with payments potentially going to small producers, vulnerable sectors, and governments for restoration, adaptation, and ecosystem recovery. The proposed insurance program would consider aggregate risk to reduce premiums and support existing climate-related insurance initiatives.