Concern Worldwide Advocacy Manager responds to UK government's announcement on climate finance commitments

News18 October 2023Sally Tyldesley

Joseph Ikitela fetches water from a hand-dug well that his community is currently relying on in Northern Kenya’s Moruongor village in Turkana County. Photo: Lisa Murray/Concern Worldwide

The UK is making a series of changes to its climate finance definitions as a way to meet its target to spend £11.6bn over five years in the developing world to help combat the climate crisis, Andrew Mitchell, the development minister, has said. Here, Concern Worldwide's Advocacy Manager, Sally Tyldesley, responds.

"We are still left with many questions about how the UK will meet its climate finance target, without having an impact on other areas of critical development spend.

Climate finance should not be an accounting exercise; it has real implications for people already living with the impacts of climate change. People who have done the least to contribute to global warming are left dealing with the consequences of having to divert money away from their basic needs, such as food, education, and health in order to repair damage to their homes, replace animals or destroyed crops, and to take measures to protect themselves from climate extremes.

In the run up to the climate change negotiations at COP28 in December, this move looks like a race to the bottom on quality and ambition on climate finance, and further erosion of the UK’s credibility on climate change."