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Foreign Secretary announces new funding to make it easier for
countries to access UK private sector climate finance and
disaster risk insurance, driving UK green growth.
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Support comes as senior Cabinet ministers meet City of London
leaders to discuss UK financial sector's role in boosting
sustainable finance for emerging markets and developing
economies.
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to set out the economic
opportunity for the UK and the City of London, in line with
the government's Plan for Change—with emerging markets
expected to drive 65% of global growth by 2035.
New support will help millions of people globally deal with the
daily impact of climate change, the Foreign Secretary has today announced (Tuesday 8
July).
A £12m commitment for disaster relief finance and insurance will
help climate-vulnerable countries better prepare for the impact
of disasters like hurricanes and drought.
This funding is triggered by certain warning signs—such as a
weather event or forecast—to enable faster payouts and a more
effective response.
Backed by the UK financial sector, this will also help drive
domestic green growth and unlock jobs, opportunity and security
for people in the UK.
This new funding comes as Cabinet Ministers from the Treasury,
Foreign Office, DESNZ and DEFRA will today meet leaders from the
financial sector. They will collectively discuss how to champion
UK-based investors and financial institutions to channel
investment into climate initiatives in emerging markets.
Foreign Secretary said:
The climate and nature crisis is the greatest global challenge we
face. Failure to act will cause unprecedented environmental
damage, fuelling displacement, conflict and famine.
Tackling this crisis is also a huge opportunity for people and
businesses here in the UK, delivering on our Plan for Change. The
green sector is worth trillions of pounds, and I'm determined
that we seize the economic growth, jobs and security it offers.
The City of London, the world's leading sustainable development
financing hub, has a crucial role to play in this.
Today's measures, in support of the UK government's Plan for
Change, will help unlock sustainable finance from the UK and
elsewhere, and ensure developing countries can better manage
climate shocks themselves.
This effort will help foster sustainable growth and protect the
most climate vulnerable nations. Global climate investment is
increasing rapidly, hitting $2.1 trillion last year, and the
government sees the City of London in a prime position to
capitalise on this opportunity.
Last year the UK's green sector grew three times faster than the
economy as a whole, attracting £43bn of private investment. With
London ranked as the world's top sustainable finance centre, the
UK is uniquely positioned to grow this industry further by
helping to unlock finance for emerging markets that will drive
65% of global growth by 2035.
The £12 million for pre-arranged finance will cut the cost of
responding to disasters and accelerate the time it takes them to
recover from such shocks.
This follows the UK launching a
global coalition with its partners last week, to scale up
pre-arranged finance tenfold by 2035, alongside a coalition to
drive greater investment for developing economies through public
markets. This was announced by the Minister for Development
at the 4th International
Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, Spain.
The Foreign Secretary is also today announcing that the UK's
Financial Services Centre of Expertise will help financial
regulators across ASEAN access expertise from the Financial
Conduct Authority. The initiative will focus on regulatory
alignment across ASEAN markets to deliver green growth
opportunities for UK investors.
BACKGROUND:
- It's the first time multiple cabinet ministers will be
attending a meeting with leaders from the City of London
together, signalling a growth opportunity on climate action.
- The UK will be first country to annually publish pre-arranged
finance as a percentage of overall crisis finance spending, with
the aspiration of increasing this over time.
