LONDON: The UK will spend at least £3 billion of its international funding for climate action on efforts to protect nature over the next five years, Boris Johnson has said.
Funding from the existing commitment of £11.6 billion for international climate finance will go towards projects such as preventing the destruction of forests, marine conservation efforts and protecting mangrove swamps.
The move is in response to the close connection between climate and nature, which has seen 68 per cent declines in populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians since 1970 and massive deforestation. Rising temperatures harm wildlife, and deforestation, agriculture and other land uses contribute nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gases (23 per cent), but healthy forests and ocean habitats can store carbon and reduce the impacts of climate change.
The Prime Minister is making an announcement about the funding at the One Planet Summit, a leader-level virtual event convened by France on Monday, and calling on others to raise their level of ambition on funding for nature.
The Prince of Wales is also addressing the One Planet Summit, urging the private sector to sign up to a Terra Carta, or Earth Charter, to safeguard the Earth by adopting sustainability and investing 10 billion dollars (£7.3 billion) in “natural capital” such as clean air and water and fertile soils.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is announcing the UK will pledge up to £38 million to a programme supporting developing countries to accelerate their shift to green energy while boosting their economies.
Ahead of the One Planet Summit, Johnson said: “We will not achieve our goals on climate change, sustainable development or preventing pandemics if we fail to take care of the natural world that provides us with the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
“The UK is already leading the way in this area, committing to protect 30 per cent of our land and ocean by the end of the decade and pledging at least £3 billion today to supporting nature and biodiversity.
“We must work together as a global community to drive the ambitious change and investment we need to protect our shared planet and the glorious, rich and diverse life within it.”
The government hopes the announcements on nature and clean energy demonstrate the UK’s leadership in fighting climate change ahead of key UN Cop26 talks being hosted in Glasgow in November.
But recent decisions to allow a new coal mine in Cumbria and temporary use of pesticides linked to harming bees has prompted some, such as climate activist Greta Thunberg, to question the credibility of the UK’s green agenda.
Dr Kat Kramer, Christian Aid’s global lead on climate change, said: “It is good to see the PM has implicitly demonstrated a holistic understanding of the interconnections between people, climate and biodiversity, in increasing the aid funding on climate into
supporting nature and biodiversity to a level proportionate to its climate impact.
“The nature-climate linkage has not traditionally been well recognised, but it is positive to see the government seeking co-beneficial approaches for people and planet.”