SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 9, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, is calling for tangible action to deliver on the commitments made at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow last year as well as support developing economies to tackle the impacts of climate change.
The Foreign Secretary announced a range of significant UK investments worth more than £100 million (One GBP=US$1.14 cent) to support developing economies to respond to climate-related disasters and adapt to the impacts of climate change, delivering on targets set at COP26.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to make a raft of adaptation-related announcements at the COP 27 conference here, including that the UK will triple funding for adaptation programs from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025
Cleverly is also arguing that long-term prosperity depends on taking action on climate change and ramping up investment in renewable energy across the world, pointing to the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on the global economy.
“The Glasgow Climate Pact gave the world the tools to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees and build a secure and sustainable future. Now is the time for all countries to step up their action on climate change and deliver the tangible change needed,” Cleverly said.
He said the UK would continue to play a leading role in this mission.
“The funding we have announced will support countries which are facing the devastating impact of climate change to adapt effectively.”
The Foreign Secretary announced that the UK would provide £20.7 million in Disaster Risk Financing to support countries that face climate-related disasters, helping them to afford insurance and to access reliable funding more quickly after a disaster.
As an example, this funding will allow the World Food Programme to ensure food supplies for almost 5 million people across 23 vulnerable countries in cases of climate-related disasters and will help Small Island Developing States (SIDS) build resilience to extreme weather events.
This support is part of the commitment made in 2021 at the UK G7 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, to spend £120 million on Disaster Risk Financing.
The UK is also providing new funding allocations to support countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change over the longer term.
London will spend £13 million to support vulnerable countries to adapt to climate impacts and towards efforts to avert, minimize and address loss and damage, including through new funding for the Santiago Network, an organization set up to support vulnerable countries to access technical assistance.
Under the UK’s COP Presidency, almost all developed country climate finance providers made new, forward-looking climate finance commitments, with many doubling or even quadrupling support for developing countries to take climate action.
The Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report has reaffirmed that the climate finance goal will be met by developed countries by 2023 latest, with over US$500 billion mobilized over the 5-year period 2021 to 2025.
and then 