The UK government has released its 2018 International Climate Finance (ICF) report, which presents the results of investments in combating climate change.
International Climate Finance serves as a framework for the UK’s investments in combating climate change, and ensures that international development contributes towards sustainability by supporting clean energy technologies and resilience measures.
The UK has committed to spending more than £5.8bn between 2016 and 2021 on investments in combating climate change, and the results of the report indicate that a number of successful projects have already been supported, and begun to deliver the impact that the country is hoping to make at a global level.
How much progress has been made by climate-friendly investments so far?
Since the programme began in 2016, the UK’s investments have already contributed towards sustainable development projects around the world, including:
- Providing access to clean energy for some 17 million people;
- Installed 590MW of clean energy infrastructure;
- Supported 47 million people in coping with the effects of climate change; and
- Mobilised £3.3bn in public financing and £910m in private investments in addition to the government’s own contributions.
One particular project which received significant support under the programme is BRACED, which stands for Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters.
The BRACED project has served to reinforce the abilities of 13 countries in Africa and Asia to respond to crises and disasters, particularly in the case of extreme weathers events or climate anomalies. For example, the programme has provided solar-powered wells to combat the threats to livestock posed by vast droughts.
How has the UK reacted to the report?
UK Environment Minister, Thérèse Coffey, suggested that the ICF programme has helped to target the UK’s international development and aid investments to ensure that they deliver the maximum possible impact.
She explained: “Climate change is a cross-cutting issue with inextricable links between forests, climate, people and ecosystem services. These results demonstrate the importance of international climate finance and the impacts that we can have worldwide when we deliver this finance effectively. The UK will continue to support countries to protect the world’s most biodiverse forests and contribute to development that is sustainable.”
