CSOs write to Sunak demanding reversal to recent UK international climate finance changes
Melanie May | 31 October 2023 | News
More than 70 UK civil society organisations have written to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today (31 October) to demand that the government reverses recent changes to UK international climate finance.
Civil society organisations wrote to the Prime Minister back in July asking the government to keep its promise to provide £11.6bn over five years in international climate finance to developing countries that have been made vulnerable to climate change. The government made assurances over this commitment with the October ministerial statement showing how it would be met.
However, the statement outlines significant changes to what counts as climate finance, and demonstrates that little progress has been made so far. In fact, to reach the target the UK is now counting spending that previously did not qualify as UK international climate finance.
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As with the previous letter, today’s is again coordinated by Climate Action Network UK (CAN-UK). It is signed by CSOs from environment, international development, education, trade union, disability inclusion, trade, humanitarian, business, and faith groups, and including Action Against Hunger, RSPB, Bond, Tearfund, Oxfam GB and The Climate Coalition amongst many more.
The letter says:
“…just relabelling finance isn’t an acceptable answer by the UK to the existential and costly realities of climate change. Putting off action just makes it more costly in the future as impacts escalate, whereas early action substantially brings down the costs and reduces losses and damages.
“Instead of accounting sleights of hand, the UK should be scaling up finance for vital climate action and generating new finance through polluter pays measures.”
It highlights a number of ways the government could raise funds for climate action from a permanent excess profits tax on fossil fuel producers to a frequent flyer levy, and says that altogether last year, the UK may have missed out on raising £23.1bn for climate action by not making polluters and the wealthiest in society pay.
With COP28 now just a month away, the CSOs are urging Sunak to fulfil promises on climate finance saying:
“…we urge the government not to turn its back on communities on the frontline of climate change and not drive down international standards on climate finance, but instead to fairly fulfil the promises you made on climate finance in a comparable way to previous UK climate finance, and to rebuild the UK’s reputation and influence on this vital issue of climate leadership.”
Commenting on the letter, Catherine Pettengell, Executive Director of Climate Action Network UK (CAN-UK), said:
“Changing the goalposts is not a credible or appropriate way for the UK to meet its international commitments, and today civil society organisations from across the UK are calling on the government to reverse this decision and retain both the quality and quantity of UK climate finance. Climate finance is a vital promise to keep to countries and communities on the frontline of a crisis not of their making, and simply relabelling other spending does nothing to help them, and instead undermines progress to collectively address the global challenge of climate change.
“It is a bitterly disappointing and short-sighted approach, and tears down the previously good standing in the world the UK had on climate finance and the UK’s ability to influence other countries to do more and better to deliver for communities on the frontline.
“The government must not turn its back on countries and communities least responsible for the climate crisis but suffering its worst impacts. True leadership means taking responsibility for the UK’s historical emissions and the wealth that has generated and giving back fairly, to secure a better future for everyone.”
Lyndsay Walsh, Climate Policy Adviser at Oxfam GB said the government’s plan “kicks the can down the road” on delivering international climate finance, adding:
“Just as we need increased ambition ahead of the UN Climate Summit COP28, the UK is once again found lacking and serves yet another blow to its claimed ambition to be a climate leader.
“These new ways of counting the UK’s climate finance lay the groundwork for a worrying reduction in the quality of climate finance and the possibility of double counting money from an already-overstretched aid budget. This opens the door for a decreasing proportion of grants being given, which are critical for lower income communities to respond to the escalating impacts of climate change without further embedding cycles of debt and poverty.
“Furthermore, the intention to increase the role of British International Investment (BII), which operates through financial intermediaries, will only mean the government has less control or oversight over where and how its international climate finance is spent.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.