By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on fellow leaders to help developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change.
He said this when he and the UN Secretary-General hosted a meeting of world leaders on climate change in New York.
A press release by Atinuke Akande-Alegbe, Senior Communications & Public Diplomacy Officer, British High Commission, Abuja said the PM used the opportunity to call on richest countries to meet the $100 billion climate pledge.
“During the meeting coming up a few weeks before COP26, Johnson said the UK will spend an extra half a billion pounds to phase out coal, move to clean energy and adapt to climate change in developing countries
“The meeting both virtually and in-person, was attended by leaders from both the world’s richest economies and those countries most vulnerable to climate change.
“The UK has already committed £11.6 billion in international climate finance over the next five years, twice the previous five-year commitment.
According to the the PM “In coming together to agree the $100bn pledge, the world’s richest countries made an historic commitment to the world’s poorest – we now owe it to them to deliver on that.
“Richer nations have reaped the benefits of untrammelled pollution for generations, often at the expense of developing countries. As those countries now try to grow their economies in a clean, green and sustainable way we have a duty to support them in doing so – with our technology, with our expertise and with the money we have promised.”
“£350 million of funding announced today will go to the Climate Investment Funds – one of the world’s largest multilateral funds working to pilot and scale climate solutions in developing countries. This includes support through the Accelerating Coal Transition programme, which seeks to accelerate closures of coal-fired power stations, repurposing sites for clean energy generation and creating green jobs.
“The UK is already the largest contributor to CIFs and at the G7 Summit in June the Prime Minister secured an ambition from all G7 leaders to provide an extra $2 billion to the fund’s two new energy programmes. Today’s announcement represents the UK’s contribution to that target.
“A further £200 million of funding at minimum will go to UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition), the UK’s flagship climate technical assistance programme. UK PACT has been operating since 2018 in 16 countries with high or rapidly growing emissions. It provides the UK’s world-leading expertise to public, private and civil society institutions so that they can help countries to become low carbon economies – reducing both emissions and poverty.
“These new commitments are a significant step on the path to delivering the ambition set out by the Prime Minister and other G7 leaders to help meet the infrastructure needs of developing countries, particularly in respect to clean and green growth.
“Following work with UK PACT, a number of countries have enshrined Net Zero commitments in law and over $695 million of private investment has been mobilised for green projects in countries the scheme supports.
“The new funding will allow UK PACT to continue its work and partner with new countries where the UK’s world-leading net zero expertise is in demand and can make a big difference in reducing their carbon footprint.
“With this new funding, UK PACT will broaden its offer to vulnerable countries to help them adapt and become more resilient to the devastating impact climate change is having globally.
“At the end of the UN General Assembly this week the UK will publish the detail of countries’ climate finance commitments to date. In response to calls from developing countries for greater transparency and predictability in international climate finance, the UK has asked Germany and Canada to lead on developing a ’$100bn Delivery Plan’, to be published ahead of the COP26 Summit. The detail on contributions the UK will publish this week will be a key component of this Plan, which will outline how the $100bn goal will be met through to 2025.”
