Prime Ministers Office 10 Downing Street
- Prime Minister will announce 1.6 billion in UK funding for climate projects as he arrives for the first day of COP28
- UK will back efforts to end deforestation and speed up the transition to renewable energy as part of a solutions-focused approach to tackling climate change
- Rishi Sunak will also use his visit for high level talks on the crisis in Gaza and de-escalation in the wider Middle East
The Prime Minister will stress the need for ambitious, innovative and pragmatic climate action to meet the challenge of rising global temperatures at the COP28 Summit in the United Arab Emirates today [Friday1stDec].
Attending the first day of the World Leaders Summit at COP, the Prime Minister will announce major funding for effective projects aimed at stopping and reversing deforestation, protecting the natural environment,and accelerating the global transition to clean and renewable energy. The projects will support urgent efforts to get the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees on track.
He will also set out his ambition to turbocharge the role of the private sector, given the UKs role as the pre-eminent global centre for green finance. Overall, the UK Government will commit 1.6 billion for internationalclimate finance (ICF) projects over the course of COP28 delivering on our commitment to spend 11.6 billion of ICF over five years and taking it further with new funding.
Todays announcements build on the UKs leading record at home, with the fastest decarbonisation in the G7 and record investment in renewables, and help to deliver on the legacy of the successful COP26 Summitin Glasgow.
The Prime Minister will also use his travel to the Middle East to push for progress on alleviating the humanitarian crisis on Gaza and finding a long-term solution to the crisis. In talks with key regional andinternational leaders, he will discuss efforts to free remaining hostages and ensure Hamas can never again launch terror attacks from Gaza, as well as concrete proposals to step up the delivery of aid and secure a lasting peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Ahead of COP28, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
The world made ambitious pledges at previous COP summits to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. But the time for pledges is now over this is the era for action.
We know that the technologies and innovations we need to protect the planet are at our fingertips, from the mighty offshore wind farms powering the UK to the solar energy transformingelectricity in Africa.
The transition to net zero should make us all safer and better off. It must benefit, not burden ordinary families. The UK has led the way in taking pragmatic, long-term decisionsat home and at COP28 we will lead international efforts to protect the worlds forests, turbocharge renewable energy and leverage the full weight of private finance.
The UK put nature at the heart of climate summits for the first time at COP26, securing the agreement of the landmark Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use which saw more than 140 countriescommit to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. And this week, we took further action at home to protect the UKs rich natural heritage, announcing 34 new landscape recovery projects, new community forests and funding to helpmore children get outdoors andinto the great British countryside.
New funding announced by the Prime Minister today builds on that record, providing up to 500 million for the Investment in Forests and Sustainable Land Use programme which works with the private sector to tacklethe causes of deforestation and increase investment in sustainable forest and land management. We expect the programme to mobilise 2 billion in private investment, directly benefit small farmers and poor rural communities, and restore vital forests across 10m hectares.A further 30 million will also be provided to the REDD Early Movers programme, which provides results-based payments to key forest countries to reduce deforestation and reinvest the money into indigenous and local communities.
The UK will also commit 316 million for exciting energy innovation projects around the world, to help speed up the global transition to renewables. The funding includes up to 185 million from the Ayrton Fund for a plannedUK-led Climate Innovation Pull Facility, which will use market incentives to signal demand for a particular innovation in developing countries and rapidly advance new green technology. There will also be 40 million from the Ayrton Fund via the Energy Catalyst for64 clean energy projects across Africa, South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, investing in partnerships which are developing critical technologies like energy storage, smart grids and next-generation solar.
British International Investment - the UKs development finance institution - will invest 44 million in climate projects in Africa and Asia. The funding includes an 8 million investment into Planet Solar in Sierra Leoneand 1.7 million for Sun Culture in Kenya, respectively using solar power to increase Sierra Leones power supply by 30% and supporting thousands of smallholder farms in Kenya with irrigation. 4.1 million will go towards the delivery of 100 electric busesin Kenya and 5.7 million will be invested into the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund, which aims to prevent 5 million tonnes of plastic pollution from entering the environment.
The UK will also contribute up to 60 million of funding for loss and damage, including up to 40 million for a new fund announced by the COP Presidency yesterday [Thursday] and a further 20 million for funding arrangements,including for early warning systems and disaster risk finance. The funding will help address the real and growing impact of climate change on countries, including many developing and small island states from rising seas to flooding and desertification. Itis intended to kickstart efforts to leverage broader sources of finance to enable the fund to scale.
Further announcements will be made by UK ministers throughout COP28, bringing the total UK ICF commitment for the Summit to more than 1.6 billion. Of that, 887.8 million - including 465 million for forests - is new funding,outside of the 11.6 billion ICF spending target agreed for 2021/22 - 2025/26.
The Prime Minister is expected to attend the Opening Ceremony at COP28, which will be addressed by His Majesty The King, as well as events on climate finance, climate adaptation and a new Just Energy TransitionPartnership with Vietnam. He will also hold a series of bilateral mee