When I was in third grade, we started the Earth Club. We made posters, ran recycling drives, and started the school garden. Over three decades later, the Earth Club and the garden are still going strong.
Why?
Because climate change isn’t a passing concern. It’s one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime, and it takes all of us acting daily to make a difference.
You are powering climate action
The Kiva community is nothing short of extraordinary. In 2024, Kiva lenders funded nearly 500 loans every single day and over $13 million in loans were directed to climate-vulnerable populations around the world — funding farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are building a more resilient, sustainable future. You’ve asked for more ways to take climate action through Kiva — and we’re taking steps to make that happen.
What’s new: climate-forward lending made easier
Today, we launched four new loan Sectors that make it easier to find and fund climate-affected people:
Clean Energy
Reuse & Recycle
Water
Sanitation & Hygiene
These changes will help:
More accurately reflect the impact you are making
Capture growing loan types like solar, clean cooking, and recycling
Make it easier to categorize and track the collective impact of climate-related loans across the Kiva community
You can find these new loan Sectors on the kiva.org/lend page when we have loans available in these categories, or find all climate-related loans in the 'eco-friendly' category.
Why these Sectors matter
Climate change isn’t just about melting glaciers or rising sea levels. It’s about water access in rural Kenya. It’s about preserving traditional crafts while championing a more sustainable fashion industry. It’s about bringing clean water to communities in Indonesia. It’s about transforming a billion lives with solar power. It’s about mutually supportive relationships between suppliers and farmers.
This work and these Sectors are a direct path to supporting people and the planet. Kiva’s new climate loan Sectors include:
Clean energy
Over 750 million people globally still lack access to electricity. Empowering vulnerable communities to leapfrog to clean energy reduces overall carbon emissions and accelerates the global energy transition. Clean energy can reduce or replace reliance on expensive, unreliable, or polluting energy sources like kerosene, diesel, or firewood, and provide more stable and healthy power for schools, homes, and businesses. On top of that, clean energy projects create local jobs, spark entrepreneurship, and support small businesses — especially in off-grid or under-resourced areas.
Loans in this sector support solutions like solar home systems, biogas systems, community energy grids, clean cooking, and other renewable energy technologies.
Supporting clean energy means supporting a shift away from fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering energy costs for families, and improving health and safety for communities.
Reuse & recycle
The world produces over 2 billion tons of waste each year. Reuse and recycling initiatives help reduce emissions and create green jobs.
Loans in this sector support entrepreneurs who are repurposing, repairing, or recycling materials—reducing waste and building circular economies. These include businesses that resell or upcycle textiles and shoes, repurpose plastics, and create new products from discarded goods. These small enterprises are building low-waste models that reduce landfill waste and carbon footprints.
Sanitation & hygiene
Nearly 3.6 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation. Poor sanitation contributes to waterborne disease and climate vulnerability. Every $1 invested in sanitation returns $5.50 in health savings and productivity gains.
Loans in this sector support the construction of toilets and sanitation systems as well as waste management. These initiatives reduce disease, improve dignity and wellbeing, and strengthen resilience to climate-related health risks.
Water
Half the world’s population is expected to live in water-stressed areas by as early as this year, and in just five years, 700 million people could be displaced by intense water scarcity. Climate change is disrupting rainfall, drying up water sources, and intensifying floods. Loans for water access and irrigation strengthen food security, reduce migration pressures, and build climate resilience. Loans in this sector support water pumps and irrigation, community water distribution, and water filtration systems. These projects help communities withstand droughts, floods, and other water-related stresses exacerbated by climate change, as well as protecting community health and wellbeing.
Kiva’s commitment to reducing climate vulnerability for underserved communities
These sectors highlight the people on the frontlines of climate solutions — farmers turning waste into opportunity, entrepreneurs expanding access to clean power, and innovators bringing safe water to their communities. With climate change impacting unbanked and underserved populations the most, it’s more important than ever to help people get the financial resources they need to build resilience and adapt. As part of our impact strategy, Kiva is committed to reaching 1.1 million climate-vulnerable people by 2028. To do so, we need all of you.
Why it matters
Today, I still believe what I did in third grade when we launched the Earth Club: that we each have a role to play. Whether it’s reducing dependence on single-use plastics or investing in people solving climate challenges in their own communities, action matters. And with the Kiva community, your action goes even further. Check out the entrepreneurs in these four new sectors now. With as little as $25, you can help fund a climate solution that works. Because when people have the tools they need, they don’t just survive—they lead. Let’s back them.
Together, we can build a future where collective action fuels climate resilience—one loan, one community, and one solution at a time.
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