Sub-Saharan Africa has a great deal of livestock, but productivity is generally low. Climate change is expected to create new challenges, such as increased prevalence of diseases, heat stress, and reduced access to feed and water due to increased temperatures and more extreme weather conditions. This policy brief examines the role of genetic diversity in adapting African livestock production to climate change and making it more sustainable. Some breeds are more resilient to harsh climate than others; at the same time, to the extent that breeding can improve productivity, it could reduce livestock’s environmental impact, including land and water use and greenhouse gas emissions.