The First Minister has called on governments to
accelerate financial support for countries most affected by
climate-induced loss and damage, in a keynote speech during
Climate Week NYC.
In the speech, the First Minister set out the details of how
Scotland’s loss and damage finance - pledged at COP26 and COP27 -
is being mobilised.
A total of £5 million has been awarded to the Climate Justice Resilience
Fund who support vulnerable communities in the Global
South who have experienced loss caused by climate change, with a
specific focus on women and young people.
In addition, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF)
will receive a further £300,000 to support communities in Malawi
impacted by Storm Freddy.
Scotland’s Humanitarian
Emergency Fund will also receive an additional £1
million to support communities affected by disasters, disease or
conflict, in recognition that climate change is increasingly
driving humanitarian emergencies abroad.
The First Minister said:
“Not a single community on Earth will be left untouched by the
effects of climate change, but that suffering is not and will not
be divided equally.
“We must ensure the communities facing the worst hardship, with
the least resources, are not left behind.
“At COP26, Scotland became the first country in the global north
to pledge financial support to address that Loss and Damage.
“At COP27 we again led the way, committing another £5 million for
the neglected area of non-economic loss and damage. We have made
good on those promises but the need for urgent responses to
climate shocks is only increasing.
“That is why I am also announcing a further £1 million programme
to address loss and damage to be delivered through Scotland’s
Humanitarian Emergency Fund.
“Scotland might be a small country but I hope these actions will
inspire others to join us in not only making pledges, but in
urgently mobilising the finances that are needed on the ground
today.”
Background
The First Minister gave a keynote speech on
Monday 18 September during an event at the New York Climate Hub
called ‘Financing the Green
Economy, Financing Climate Justice’.
At COP26, the Scottish Government committed £2 million in
financial support to communities to address loss and
damage. During COP27, the Scottish Government pledged an additional £5
million of funding to tackle loss and damage. Today’s
announcements mean that all of this money has now been allocated.
Non-economic loss and damage can include forced displacement and
impacts on cultural heritage, human mobility and the lives and
livelihoods of local communities.
