UK to spend £3bn of climate finance on nature support

The UK government has announced that it will spend at least £3bn of international climate finance on solutions that help protect and restore nature and biodiversity over five years.

Unveiled by prime minister Boris Johnson at the One Planet Summit this week, the funding will look to deliver “transformational change” in protecting biodiversity-rich land and ocean, promoting sustainable food production and supply, and supporting the livelihoods of the world’s poorest.

It will be allocated from the UK’s existing commitment of £11.6bn for international climate finance, and comes after the country pledged to help protect 30% of the globe’s land and ocean by 2030.

“We will not achieve our goals on climate change, sustainable development or preventing pandemics if we fail to take care of the natural world that provides us with the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe,” Johnson said.

“We must work together as a global community to drive the ambitious change and investment we need to protect our shared planet and the glorious, rich and diverse life within it.”

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab also announced that the UK will pledge up to £38m to the Climate Compatible Growth programme, supporting developing countries to accelerate their transition to green energy while growing their economies.

This comes after the UK funded the Blue Belt Programme to protect vulnerable ocean ecosystems, and five years ago joined Norway and Germany to pledge at least $5bn to reduce deforestation between 2015 and 2020 – exceeding the target by the end of last year.

Moreover, the prime minister signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature at the UN General Assembly last September, an initiative pioneered by the UK and now signed by 82 countries.

“It is fantastic to see billions of pounds pledged today to support efforts to reduce deforestation and degradation, and to accelerate the transition to clean energy,” said COP president Alok Sharma.

“By working together, on the road to COP26, we can make faster progress towards a sustainable future for our planet.”

Image credit: iStock

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