Theresa May unveils £140 million funding for climate vulnerable nations

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced new climate change policies to help vulnerable nations affected by climate change, declaring that it’s Britain’s duty to assist.

The announcement was made during the One Planet Summit in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. Mrs. May revealed that the UK will strengthen its aid to countries that are disproportionally affected by deforestation and that are vulnerable to natural disasters and extreme weather events associated with climate change.   

She said: “There is a clear moral imperative for developed economies like the UK to help those around the world who stand to lose most from the consequences of manmade climate change”.

£30 million will be allocated to the Department for International Development’s Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED).

Additionally, £87 million will be provided to the Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) Programme of the Department for International Development to support the fight against illegal tree felling and promote the fair trade of legal timber.

The UK has already offered support to Dominica, helping rebuild the Caribbean island’s destroyed water system in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Another £15 million will be allocated for additional support for the reconstruction on the island.

£8 million will be spent on better crisis and response operations on the islands affected by Hurricane Maria, including training and improvements to communication systems, casualty management training and mapping of high-risk areas.

Theresa May added: “Tackling climate change and mitigating its effects for the world’s poorest are among the most critical challenges that we face”.

“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”.

The UK Prime Minister also renewed the country’s commitment to lead the phase-out of coal in alliance with Canada.

She described coal as “one of the dirtiest and most destructive ways of generating power” and underlined the “enormous commercial opportunity which the shift to cleaner forms of energy represents”.

“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”, she added.