UK aid must focus on climate change, say MPs.

MPs have warned that the UK must put climate change at the centre of their aid strategy.

In a new report, the International Development Committee has called for the UK government to set an example and become a global front runner by putting climate change at the centre of their aid strategy.

The report highlights that spending on fossil fuels needs to stop immediately, as supporting the fossil fuel economy in developing countries is damaging the effectiveness of the UK’s approach to combating climate change.

The Committee say that the UK’s commitment of spending £1.76 billion on climate finance, dedicated aid spending for climate change related activities, should become the annual minimum.

They recommend that this money should be used to finance programmes and strategies that take a long-term approach, addressing mitigation and adaptation, with poverty reduction as the key goal.

The Committee have said climate change is the "single biggest threat to stability and wellbeing in some of the world’s most vulnerable nations". They believe that the effectiveness of UK aid spending is directly linked to how effectively it combats the causes and impacts of climate change.

Stephen Twigg MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “It is welcome that in recent weeks climate change has taken its rightful place at the top of the news agenda. The scale and seriousness of the challenge to be confronted must be reinforced and reflected upon daily if we are to take meaningful steps to combat it. The Committee on Climate Change report has set out the measures that need to be taken domestically, but we must also look globally.”

Read the full report here.

       8 May 2019