Leaked memo suggests £11.6bn local weather pledge to be dropped – however authorities points denial

The authorities has denied it plans to drop its £11.6bn help pledge to assist creating international locations deal with local weather change.

The Guardian reported it had seen a leaked briefing be aware to ministers, saying the goal was set earlier than the prices of COVID, and sticking to it could “squeeze out room for other commitments, such as humanitarian and women and girls”.

But a authorities spokesperson mentioned any claims the pledge was being dropped had been “false”.

Politics reside: Tory ‘jingle and mingle’ lockdown occasion to be investigated once more

Boris Johnson pledged in 2019, when he was prime minister, to double the UK’s worldwide local weather finance contributions, promising it could hit not less than £11.6bn between 2021-22 and 2025-26.

It varieties a part of the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, agreed at COP26, which goals to see £100bn spent annually internationally on serving to susceptible international locations liable to the influence of local weather change.

But concurrently making the dedication, Mr Johnson additionally diminished the federal government’s spending on worldwide help to 0.5% of GDP, as a substitute of the long-standing dedication of 0.7%.

Click to subscribe to ClimateForged with Tom Heap wherever you get your podcasts

The be aware leaked to the Guardian learn: “Our commitment to double our international climate finance to £11.6bn was made in 2019, when we were still at 0.7 [% of GDP spent on international aid] and pre-COVID.”

It provides that assembly it by the deadline could be a “huge challenge” due to new pressures, together with assist for Ukraine – which additionally falls into the help funds.

Last week, former surroundings minister Lord Goldsmith give up his publish, saying it was over the federal government’s “apathy” to local weather change and taking particular goal at Mr Sunak.

Read extra:
Is Rishi Sunak ‘uninterested’ within the surroundings?

Following reviews in regards to the leaked memo, Lord Goldsmith mentioned it “added to the sense that the UK is no longer a reliable partner”, tweeting: “The PM is insisting he isn’t breaking his promise. The figures show he is.

“Indeed, the one means it might be stored is that if the following authorities in its 1st yr allocates over 80% of ALL UK bilateral help to local weather (at [the] expense of humanitarian, well being, training), which clearly it can’t do.

“There will be some who welcome this. But they should consider the impact on the UK of breaking a promise that Commonwealth allies and countless others prize above all others. It will be seen as an act of betrayal on a profound level and will cause us irreparable reputational harm.”

But a authorities minister instructed Sky News: “Claims that the International Climate Finance pledge is being dropped are false.

“As the prime minister [Rishi Sunak] set out at COP27, the federal government stays dedicated to spending £11.6bn on worldwide local weather finance and we’re delivering on that pledge.”

The minister added: “We spent over £1.4bn on worldwide local weather finance over the course of the 2021-22 monetary yr, supporting creating international locations to cut back poverty and reply to the causes and impacts of local weather change.

“We will publish the latest annual figures in due course.”