COP27: UK pledges £11.6B to tackle climate change

COP27: UK pledges £11.6B to tackle climate change
November 8, 2022, 9:00 am

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Monday (Nov 7) that the UK is committed to providing £11.6 billion ($13.3 billion) to tackle climate change, noting that the war in Ukraine called for "faster action" on the climate crisis.

This came in his first international speech as prime minister during his participation in the UN climate change conference COP27 in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

On Sunday (Nov 6), the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) opened in Egypt's coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh in hopes to turn global climate finance pledges into action.

“I believe we found room for hope in Glasgow. With one last chance to create a plan that would limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees (Celsius), we made the promises to keep that goal within reach,” he said in his speech.

Sunak stressed that the UK will triple its funding on adaptation efforts to £1.5 billion by 2025.

This photo shows an entrance to the media registration area of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

He said the war in Ukraine was not a reason to slow down on climate change, but a reason to act faster and an opportunity to diversify the UK's energy supply by investing in renewables.

Boris Johnson warns against climate change ‘defeatism’

Egypt is currently hosting COP27, with more than 100 leaders and heads of state attending the global event to discuss ways to lessen the negative impacts of climate change and adapting to its repercussions.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas), which produces heat-trapping gases.

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