Britain Pledges £160 million Climate Funding for Developing Countries

Global climate action got a new boost this week as the UK government announced fresh funding to tackle climate change in developing countries. This comes at a time when the Rishi Sunak government is under fire for a net zero U-turn in domestic policy.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced on September 21 that the UK will contribute £160 million to help reduce carbon emissions in developing countries and lower the cost of it. The new funding was announced at the UN Climate Ambitions Summit in New York.

This £160 million climate funding is part of Britain's £11.6 billion climate International Climate Finance pledge between 2021 to 2022 and 2025 to 2026. Through the new funding, the UK seeks to maintain its position as a key ally in the developing nations' emission-reducing efforts.

The UK government has made it clear that the £160 million climate support announced this week aims to speed up projects under development. The fund will be especially used to adopt green technologies in developing countries which will reduce costs and emissions.

UK Energy Minister Graham Stuart underlined Britain's lead role in tackling global emissions and its commitment towards net zero while announcing the new climate support at the UN Climate Ambitions Summit in New York.

Global emissions were at the forefront at the Climate Mobilisation Forum discussion in Paris, where the British Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho and her French counterpart Agnes Pannier Runacher met businesses and philanthropists trying to invest in new climate technologies.

The UK government seeks to support energy-intensive industries in emerging economies through the £160 million funding package. This includes supporting hydrogen fuel adoption in steel production, biomass and biomass-powered refrigeration amongst many others.

The new £160 million climate funding for developing countries will be done through four global programmes:

£100 million is allocated to support emission reduction efforts in the energy, industry and transport sectors with the help of the German government under the Mitigation Action Facility.

£55 million is reserved for clean energy adoption and industrial decarbonisation along with the switch to smart energy through the Clean Energy Innovation Facility which is part of the Clean Energy Innovation Facility programme extension plan from 2024 to 2029

A reported £5.7 million is allocated for technical assistance through the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Partnership. This will support green projects in developing nations along with the £750,000 given to the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance seed funding to attract private investment.

In addition, this is primarily targeted to reduce emissions in the Caribbean and Latin American regions and protect forest cover.

Climate funding for developing countries to accelerate decarbonisation

Speaking about the new climate funding to the developing countries, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho said that the UK accounts for only one per cent of global emissions but takes the lead in working with others for global net zero ambition.

Coutinho said the UK is a proud ally of the developing countries and continues to support their clean energy efforts. The new climate funding will accelerate decarbonising efforts in the developing world and support new industries by creating long-term jobs, Coutinho added.

UK Energy Minister Graham Stuart highlighted Britain's commitment to net zero as it spearheads "international efforts to limit global warming" as per COP26 declaration. Stuart revealed how the country has cut emissions more than any other country since 1990.

Britain stands with the developing countries in their industrial transformation to clean energy and it's paramount that industries in these economies become future-proof, said the Energy Minister.

This is in line with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's £1.62 billion Global Climate Fund announcement at the recently concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi. This commitment is the biggest financial contribution of Britain towards the people most vulnerable to climate change, added Stuart.

Nepal's representative at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Dr Lasse Ringius, applauded the UK government for its climate funding, especially the allocation made to the Mitigation Action Facility.

Dr Ringius called for better collaboration opportunities with governments for new projects as an implementer of the current projects. Ringius emphasised on the Mitigation Action Facility's unique ability to combine technical expertise and financial support which is crucial for the execution of climate mitigation projects worldwide.

Furthermore, Dr Ringius revealed how Britain is supporting the "Cement Breakthrough" programme along with Canada. Through this initiative, near-zero emission cement will be made available in global markets by 2030.