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Tibetan climate change protesters march in Glasgow to raise awareness of climate change in Tibet. Photo Credit: Daz Johnstone
THE UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has pledged £290m to help support the world’s poorest nations in their fight against climate change.
The key focus will be countries in the Asia and Pacific (AsiaPac) Region.
It comes as representatives from some of the world’s wealthiest nations prepare to make similar pledges to support poorer countries that are suffering some of the worst effects of climate change.
Poorer nations are asking for $100 billion (£87 billion). They say they have been affected the worst by the natural disasters caused by climate change despite having one of the lowest direct impacts on the climate.
The original request by the more affected nations was for the $100 billion to be pledged and donated to them by the year 2020. However, this target was not met and a new one, 2023, has been set in a move that has been referred to as “extremely disappointing”.
The poorer nations have asked for $100 billion to be donated every year to help them to reach their target of being net zero by the year 2050.
The donations pledged by the UK government are said to be going towards actions investing in climate action, improving conservation and promoting low-carbon development.
The wealthier countries are being asked to donate the money because their lifestyles have a great impact on standards in poorer nations.
An article published by the BBC claims the wealthiest one per cent of the world accounts for more than double the amount of combined emissions of the poorest 50%.
This renewed pledge from the UK government comes after the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) described the £290 million as “new funding” from the government.
This pledge comes after the UK government announced a cut to the UK foreign aid spending down to 0.5% of the national income from October 2021 until 2024-25.
Despite the move by the UK government, questions are still being asked whether the wealthier nations should be donating money on top of their own pledges to compensate for damage to the developing nations.
To date, Scotland is the only UK country to promise to donate £1 million in compensation to the countries whose economies have suffered the most damage due to climate change.
