UK not Paying for Climate Fund
The UK is planning to withdraw from pledges to tackle the effects of climate change and fund nature conservation. According to the news of The Guardian, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is planning to withdraw from the UK’s pledge of 11.6 billion or 1,160 million pounds to the climate fund.
The former ministers and members of parliament of the United Kingdom have reacted angrily to this news. They say that Rishi Sunak made false promises.
A briefing note prepared for UK ministers and the Foreign Office has been obtained by The Guardian. The note sets out the UK’s reasons for backing out of this commitment.
Guardian News Interviews
It said: ‘We pledged to double UK investment in the International Climate Fund in 2019, when we spent 0.7% of GDP on international aid and before Covid-19.’ Due to the great challenge of fulfilling this commitment; The aid package also includes money given to war-torn Ukraine.
83 percent of the country’s official development assistance (ODA) should be spent on the climate fund by 2026. British officials wrote in the note that to pay this much money to the climate fund would have to cut aid in other sectors, including humanitarian aid, women and girls.
The note also said that meeting this target for aid and debt relief to Ukraine has become more difficult. The reason for this is that the UK government has reduced international aid to 0.5% of gross national income after announcing a doubling of the climate fund. At the same time, budget allocations in other sectors have also been reduced and a large portion of the money allocated to the Climate Fund has remained unused, creating a need to spend a large portion by 2026. That is, the pressure has suddenly increased.
UK Government
The UK government spent $5.8 billion on climate funding from 2016 to 2021. From April 2021 to March 2026, this expenditure will only double, meaning that the UK government will need to spend 11.6 billion or £1.16 billion during this period to meet the pledge. Of this, 3 billion pounds have been set aside for the UK government’s pledge at the COP-15 held last December.
Jack Goldsmith, a junior minister at the UK Foreign Office, resigned last week. Rishi Sunak has a reluctance or indifference on climate issues, he told The Guardian. Due to his decision, the image of the United Kingdom in the international arena may be damaged.
Meanwhile, countries that are supposed to receive money from the climate fund expressed disappointment at the prospect of a reduction in the size of the fund. Lee White, Minister of the Environment of the Central African country of Gabon, said that the climate crisis is something that all countries should participate in to find a solution.
Environment Minister Lee Said
Environment Minister Lee White also said, ’88 percent of Gabon is covered in tropical rainforest. We have kept the annual deforestation rate below zero.1 percent for more than five decades. We absorb 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Few countries are doing more. Developed countries, especially countries like the UK, should take greater responsibility. Because the industrial revolution started in that country. But often they make false promises, can’t even lead, and can’t keep what little money they promise.’
Sources: Business News