- Foreign Secretary announces fresh finance to support African
countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change
- The UK funding pledged at COP27 in Egypt will help deal with
severe drought and floods across the continent
-
said the funding will go,
via the African Development Bank, to “those most affected by
the impacts of climate change”
The Foreign Secretary has announced a significant increase in the
UK’s financial support to African countries on the frontline of
climate change.
Speaking alongside African leaders at an event at COP27, the
Foreign Secretary confirmed the UK will provide £200 million to
the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s Climate Action Window
(CAW).
The CAW is a new mechanism set up to channel climate finance to
help vulnerable countries adapt to the impacts of climate change,
from severe drought in the Horn of Africa to floods in South
Sudan.
Foreign Secretary said:
Climate change is having a devastating impact on countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa facing drought and extreme weather patterns,
which have historically received a tiny proportion of climate
finance.
This new mechanism from the African Development Bank will see
vital funds delivered to those most affected by the impacts of
climate change, much more quickly.
Lack of access to climate finance for the world’s poorest
countries was a central focus at COP26 in Glasgow. This £200
million of UK funding is helping us to make tangible progress to
address this issue.
The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi
Adesina, welcomed the additional funding from the United Kingdom
and said:
I applaud the UK government for this major contribution towards
the capitalization of the Climate Action Window of the African
Development Fund, as it seeks to raise more financing to support
vulnerable low-income African countries that are most affected by
climate change. This bold move and support of the UK will
strengthen our collective efforts to build climate resilience for
African countries. With increasing frequencies
of droughts, floods and cyclones that are devastating
economies, the UK support for climate adaptation is
timely, needed, and inspiring in closing the climate
adaptation financing gap for Africa.
I came to COP 27 in Egypt with challenges of climate adaptation
for Africa topmost on my mind. The support of the UK has given
hope. I encourage others to follow this leadership on climate
adaptation shown by the UK.
The Glasgow Climate Pact included a commitment from donors to
double adaptation finance in 2025 from 2019 levels. Yesterday the
Prime Minister announced the UK will surpass that target and
triple adaptation funding from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5
billion in 2025. This funding package provided to the AfDB will
be part of this commitment.
The Netherlands has also announced that it will contribute to the
CAW alongside the UK funding, and the Foreign Secretary has
called on other countries to contribute over the coming months.
The Prime Minister also confirmed yesterday
that the UK is delivering the target of spending £11.6 billion on
International Climate Finance (ICF). This comes alongside new and
expanded solar and geothermal power plants in Kenya backed by
British International Investment, UK export financing for
Nairobi’s ground-breaking Railway City and a major public-private
partnership on the Grand Falls Dam hydropower project - including
a $3 billion investment led by UK firm GBM Engineering.
Yesterday the Foreign Secretary announced a series of
significant UK investments worth more than £100 million to
support developing economies to respond to climate-related
disasters and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
