Commenting on the news of a possible climb down from the UK’s £11.6bn climate finance pledge by Rishi Sunak’s government, Tearfund’s Head of Advocacy, Paul Cook, said:
‘The outrageous claim that climate finance money should be spent elsewhere on humanitarian priorities is misleading. Climate finance should be new and additional to international aid specifically to prevent this from happening in a context where extreme weather related disasters are on the rise. Cutting funding for reducing emissions and adapting to live with climate impacts is dangerously short-sighted and undermines global efforts to save lives.
‘When wealthy and high carbon emitting nations fail to step up to their climate responsibilities, it hurts us all but people in poverty most. Rishi Sunak’s government still has time to keep the UK’s long-standing promise to low-income countries and communities of £11.6bn by 2026 in climate funding. Failing to keep this promise would be a miserly betrayal that will cost lives and livelihoods. It would be a backwards step for international cooperation at a time when working together is more crucial than ever.’
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