UK government support for developing countries to tackle climate change

• Government announces £160 million of climate support for developing countries, at UN Climate Ambitions Summit in New York
• Climate funding to support developing countries part of UK’s £11.6 billion International Climate Finance commitment

The UK will stand as a key ally with developing countries in their efforts to cut emissions.

The £160 million funding will support developing countries to speed up the development and deployment of new green technologies, which will reduce emissions and drive down costs.

The new funding was announced by Energy Minister Graham Stuart at the UNClimate Ambitions Summit in New York, highlighting the UK’s leadership in tackling emissions and working to achieve net zero.

The Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho will also join her French counterpart Agnes Pannier Runacher in Paris today (Thursday 21 September) for the Climate Mobilisation Forum, meeting leading businesses and philanthropists looking to invest in developing technologies while stressing the need for international cooperation to reduce global emissions.

The funding package will support energy-intensive industries in developing and emerging economies to cut their emissions, with backing for measures ranging from deploying clean hydrogen-based fuels for steel production to the creation of biomass-powered refrigeration.

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho said:

I am proud that the UK is a key ally of developing countries and is supporting them to reduce emissions and develop clean energy.

We in the UK only account for 1% of global emissions, so we must work together with other countries around the world if we are to achieve our ambition of Net Zero.

Today’s funding will help decarbonise key industrial sectors in the developing world, support new industries and create long-term jobs.

Energy Minister Graham Stuart said:

The UK has cut its emissions by more than any other major economy since 1990 and, following COP26, will continue to spearhead international efforts to limit global warming and reach net zero.

It is essential that developing countries are able to future-proof their industries too - and we will stand with them every step of the way in their industrial transformation.

The funding is part of UK’s international efforts to help developing countries tackle climate change, including by pledging to spend £11.6 billion on international climate finance between 2021 to 2022 and 2025 to 2026.

It follows the Prime Minister’s pledge of £1.62 billion towards the Global Climate Fund, at the G20 in India. That commitment is the UK’s biggest single financial contribution to helping the world’s most vulnerable people adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change.

The funding will be spread across 4 global programmes:

• £100 million for the Mitigation Action Facility – working with the German government, this fund aims to support developing countries to reduce emissions by funding projects particularly focused on sectors including energy, industry and transport
• £55 million for the Clean Energy Innovation Facility – this new funding will extend the Clean Energy Innovation Facility programme from 2024 to 2029, which provides grants to accelerate the development of innovative clean energy technologies in developing countries in areas such as industrial decarbonisation, and smart energy
• £5.7 million for the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Partnership – to support developing countries with technical assistance to implement their NDC: namely, their share of global emissions reductions to reduce global warming under the Paris Agreement
• £750,000 for the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance – further funding for the Global Innovation Lab which supports green projects in developing countries, with this £750k ‘seed funding’ aiming to leverage further private investment. This new funding will focus on supporting projects to reduce emissions in Latin America & the Caribbean and protect forests

Dr Lasse Ringius, Nepal Country Representative, the Global Green Growth Institute, said:

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) applauds the UK government’s renewed commitment to fund the Mitigation Action Facility. As an implementer of a current project and prospective applicant for further funding from the facility, we emphasise the need for a mid-term outlook on future call for projects, allowing us to collaborate with partner governments for new project development.

We believe the Mitigation Action Facility uniquely combines technical expertise, financial support, and agile project execution, making it ideally suited to advance impactful climate mitigation initiatives globally.

In addition to the funding announced yesterday, the UK also confirmed support for a new ‘Cement Breakthrough’, joining Canada. The Breakthrough aim to ensure near-zero emission cement is the preferred choice in global markets by 2030.

Launched by world leaders at the COP26 talks in Glasgow, the Breakthrough Agenda is a UK-led international climate framework, to align global action and coordinate investment for deploying clean technologies in sectors including power, road transport, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture.