UK partners with Africa and the Caribbean to combat the climate crisis

In order to tackle climate crises, the UK government will discuss its collaboration with other regions at the Paris Summit today (22 June 2023). The new partnerships that have been developed between the UK and countries in Africa will be announced. The UK will also reveal its plan to collaborate with regions of the Caribbean.

Africa has been recognised as "one of the most vulnerable continents in the world to climate change", according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world on average. At some point in 2022, every aspect of the continent was affected by extreme weather events – from wildfires and cyclones to disastrous flooding and heatwaves.

"Some people call heatwaves the 'silent killer' because we can't see the impacts. It is easy to see flooding and people drowning and to record their deaths. But when it's a heatwave and we don't see the impact with our eyes, it's difficult to record," Dr Friederike Otto, a Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, told Carbon Brief.

In recent years, the areas of the Caribbean have seen an increased intensity of tropical storms, desertification and the depletion of coral reefs. To reduce the effects of climate change, countries in the Caribbean have invested in green transportation systems, clean energy supplies and environmental/conservation programs.

Regions of the Caribbean are also victims of hurricanes, floods, landslides and earthquakes.

The UK will provide the 12 nations in the Caribbean and Africa, a funding scheme to support their economic resilience amid the climate crisis. The scheme is part of the New Global Financing Pact.

The UK Export Finance credit agency will work with developing countries to allow them to defer their debt repayments as and when they are hit by extreme weather conditions and catastrophic climate events – such as hurricanes, droughts and floods.

"Developing countries face painful trade-offs between rebuilding their communities and making debt repayments in the wake of climate shocks", the Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, noted.

The UKEF have a £2 billion fund, which is dedicated to financing clean growth projects around the world. The UKEF are the first export credit agency to offer Climate Resilient Debt Clauses on a global scale.

The CEO of UK Export Finance, Tim Reid, said: "The release of our template Climate Resilient Debt Clause is a watershed moment for the UK's work in encouraging other creditors to consider similar provisions. With this, the UK continues showing its commitment to helping those countries most vulnerable to climate shocks respond to crises and disasters."

After the Summit in Paris, the new Climate Resilient Debt Clauses will be added to the existing loan agreements.

The Climate Resilient Debt Clauses, which allow governments in Africa and the Caribbean to delay the repayments of their debt, will also make resources that fund disaster response and recovery funding to be available.

The Minister for Development and Africa added: "Allowing for a temporary pause in debt repayment is important because it gives affected communities the breathing space they need to focus on the urgent task at hand: recovery."

The Summit, which will be chaired by President Macron of France, also aims to raise awareness and address climate change and global poverty. At the Summit, the governments will also build a new consensus towards achieving a more inclusive international financial system, while taking climate contexts into account.

The progress towards reaching the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which were dubbed 'unlikely', will also be discussed at the Summit.

Mia Amor Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, expressed: "We commend the UK for its support and leadership in developing these clauses into something that could transform the resilience of the international financial system and make it fitter for today's world."