UK doubles international climate change aid

The UK government has announced that it will double its contribution to an international fund tackling climate change and biodiversity loss in developing countries.

This will see the Green Climate Fund (GCF) receive £1.44bn from Britain over the next four years, compared to the £720m invested by the country between 2014 and 2019.

The fund supports projects that reduce emissions and protect natural habitats in the developing world, such as working with indigenous communities to prevent deforestation in the Amazon.

This comes amid widespread international concern at the record number of fires burning in the Amazon rainforest, which is considered a vital carbon store that mitigates global warming.

“This is a global problem that requires a global solution, Britain cannot solve such problems alone,“ international development secretary, Alok Sharma, said.

“Doubling the UK's contribution to the world's largest fund dedicated to tackling climate change will enable more investment in prevention and preparedness, and lever further private sector finance.“

Since programmes began in 2015, the GCF has provided $5.2bn (£4.25bn) to 111 projects worldwide, and mobilised over $13.5bn of private sector and other co-investment.

It is estimated that existing GCF projects will help 300 million people cope with the effects of climate change and take the equivalent of 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

This is like taking 300 million cars off the road for a whole year or every plane out of the sky for 18 months, according to the Department for International Development.

Other GCF projects include increasing access to clean energy in Rwanda to reduce dependence on diesel, and installing solar power water pumps in Ethiopia to help people cope during drought.

“Having committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, we have a responsibility to help other countries do the same,“ business and energy secretary, Andrea Leadsom, said.

“The GCF has supported millions of people in developing countries deal with the impacts of a changing climate. I'm really proud to announce that we are doubling our contribution.“

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