Globally 31 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced in the last nine years as a result of UK intervention – the equivalent to taking 6.7 million cars off the road for a year, according to new climate finance data.
UK International Climate Finance (ICF) investments aim to reduce poverty by helping developing countries including Bangladesh build resilience and manage the risks of climate change.
Developing countries are the hardest hit by climate change and the World Bank estimates that without intervention the impact of rising emissions could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030.
The British High Commission in Dhaka said the climate finance data results show that since 2011, UK aid investment has provided 33 million people with improved access to clean energy, including connections to off-grid renewable energy sources, access to solar lanterns and clean cookstoves.
The data also showed that the UK aid investment also installed 2000 MW of clean energy capacity, equivalent to the capacity of 454 average sized UK offshore wind turbines.
Those investments also helped 66 million people to cope with the effects of climate change, for example by providing training on how to grow climate-resilient crops.
The UK also leveraged £2.2 billion of private finance to fight climate change.
In 2021, the UK will host the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, building on the success of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle climate change internationally.
The UK’s world-leading ICF investments demonstrate the Prime Minister’s commitment to help the world build back better from coronavirus by preventing deforestation, investing in climate-resilient crops and implementing early warning systems for floods.
International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “As the world starts to recover from coronavirus, we have a unique opportunity to help the poorest countries build back greener from this devastating pandemic and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
“UK aid is fighting climate change while lifting people out of poverty. As we prepare to host COP26, the UK will be pushing for international action to tackle these two challenges,” Anne-Marie said.
Through International Climate Finance, UK aid is investing in innovative solutions for tackling climate change. In Indonesia, this support has created a legally binding agreement between the Indonesian government and forest managers to prevent deforestation and provide new, sustainable jobs for local communities.
Through this programme, more than 270,000 hectares of forest – the equivalent of nearly 400,000 football pitches – have been protected.
COP26 President and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma, said as hosts of COP26, the UK is committed to tackling climate change in a manner which leaves no one behind, especially countries that need urgent support.
“I am proud that our International Climate Finance scheme is part of this work, from protecting our precious forests to ensuring developing countries are supported through adaptation and resilience measures and assisted to transition to cleaner, greener energy.”
