Theresa May pledges cash to tackle climate change at Paris summit
The PM is attending a Paris summit of world leaders where she will announce 拢15m of extra support for hurricane-hit Dominica.
Tuesday 12 December 2017 02:52, UK
A big increase in UK aid for Caribbean countries devastated by hurricanes will be part of a 拢140m climate change boost for the world's poorer communities pledged by Theresa May.
The Prime Minister is attending the One Planet Summit in Paris, a major conference of world leaders, where she will unveil new proposals to tackle both the effects and causes of climate change.
She will announce £15m of additional support for reconstruction on the island of Dominica in the Caribbean, one of the regions most affected by extreme weather associated with climate change.
This money will support reconstruction of the island's water system, which was destroyed by Hurricane Maria.
The Government claims the UK funding will make the water system better able to withstand future extreme weather.
And to help other individual countries and territories in the Caribbean become more resilient, the UK will give £8m of additional funding for activities including better crisis and response operations on the islands.
Some of this money will also be spent on training and improvements to communications systems, casualty management training; and mapping of high risk areas, the Prime Minister will announce.
"Tackling climate change and mitigating its effects for the world's poorest are among the most critical challenges that we face," Mrs May said ahead of the summit.
"That is why I am joining other world leaders in Paris today for the One Planet Summit and committing to stand firmly with those on the front line of extreme weather and rising sea levels.
"And by redoubling our efforts to phase out coal, as well as build on our world leading electric car production, we are showing we can cut emissions in a way that supports economic growth."
In total, the UK is providing a £140m boost to those poorer communities around the world disproportionately affected by climate change, whether through deforestation or vulnerability to natural disasters and climate extremes.
This will include an additional £30m through the Department for International Development's (DfID) Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED) programme.
The aim is that this funding will help two million more of the world's poorest people cope with climate shocks.
It brings the total to seven million people supported by measures such as irrigation for better harvests, support in planting more resilient crops, improved forecasting and help to develop insurance schemes.
The Government claims helping to build resilience to extreme weather will reduce the need for communities to call on emergency humanitarian support when disaster strikes, reducing dependence on aid.
Poor communities are also disproportionately affected by climate change through deforestation, with one billion people around the world reliant on forests for their livelihoods.
The Government says this is why the Prime Minister is committing a further £87m through DfID's Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) Programme.
This money will help local communities who depend on forests to accelerate efforts in the fight against illegal logging and support trade in legal timber.
In her remarks at the summit, Mrs May will claim the UK is leading an international effort to meet commitments made under the Paris Agreement, the climate change accord that has been controversially derided by President Trump,
And the Prime Minister will announce that the UK will host a global zero emission vehicle summit next autumn, bringing together ministers, industry leaders and others from around the world to further the development of the low emission and electric car market.