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12. Climate change

Watch the film of how DFID is helping to preserve the Congo basin rainforest| Transcript

What we agreed at Gleneagles

The G8 will develop a framework for accelerating public and private investments in clean energy in developing countries with the World Bank and other multilateral development banks.

The G8 will strengthen international co-operation to help developing countries obtain full benefits from the Global Climate Observation System (GCOS), recognising Africa as a special case.

The G8 will invite the World Bank to develop and implement ‘best practice’ guidelines for screening its investments in climate sensitive sectors – and ask other development organisations to adopt the World Bank guidelines or put similar guidance in place.

How is the UK doing?

flooded village, bangladesh The UK is providing technical support to help develop the Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF) which funds climate friendly technologies, access to energy programmes and helps developing countries manage the impacts of climate change. We have also announced support for one of the first CEIF projects to be developed under the framework – investing in wind power in Mexico. More recently the UK announced an £800 million International Environmental Transformation Fund for reducing poverty through environmental management and helping developing countries respond to climate change.

The UK is the lead donor in support of the ‘Climate for Development’ programme of the Global Climate Observation System (GCOS). This will help Africa improve the use of climate risk information in developing its planning.

And in six countries, we are implementing a pilot programme to develop procedures that will manage the climate change risks to all our development projects by 2008. This is part of a wider effort to help developing countries address climate change in their national plans. The programme in Bangladesh is now complete, and efforts in China, Ethiopia, India and Kenya are underway, together with further plans in Ghana.

Millennium Development Goal 7 - Environment

How the International Community is doing

The Asian Development Bank launched an Energy Efficiency Initiative, with the aim of providing assistance of $1 billion a year for clean energy projects. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched the Sustainable Energy Initiative in 2006, with £3 million of support from the UK, which aims to foster €5 billion of investment in cleaner energy over the next five years.

In the last year the World Bank has boosted the financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects by 45% – exceeding the 20% annual increase target set in 2004. In March 2007, again supported by the UK, the multilateral development banks launched a partnership with the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council to explore how best to stimulate private sector investment through the Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF).

In March 2007 the EU committed to cuts in carbon emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020. This marked an important signal to the international community.

What should happen next?

The UK is working to secure commitment from G8 member countries to support investments through the multilateral development banks under the Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF). We are also supporting action in new areas such as ‘reduced emissions from avoided deforestation’ programmes

And we are pressing for follow-up action by other donors to the Gleneagles commitments on helping developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change – including securing wider donor support to the Global Climate Observation System (GCOS) and an extension of commitments on GCOS to Asia and Latin America.

Recognising the special need to address development in Africa, the UK is working to ensure that climate change factors are mainstreamed into the priorities of the G8 ‘Africa’ agenda.

The key objective at the G8 Summit is to build on the EU Spring Council conclusions to present a package of concrete announcements and measures which G8 and the +5 countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa) could sign up to that would form the basis of a future framework. Achieving this would provide a clear signal to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December to secure a global political mandate for the negotiation of a comprehensive framework of post-2012 commitments.

Where it is making a difference:

Conserving the Congo Basin - as part of the UK’s £800 million International Environmental Transformation Fund £50 million has been given to protect the Congo Basin rainforest. This will protect the livelihoods of people who rely on the forest for food and shelter as well as protecting its role as a ‘carbon sink’, helping to fight against climate change.

Adapting to floods in Bangladesh - the DFID-funded Chars Livelihoods Programme is helping bring about physical, social and economic improvements for 6.5 million of the poorest, most vulnerable char dwellers in Bangladesh. To help cope with flooding, plinths are being built to raise houses above the 100 year flood line. Raising houses like this will save lives, help people sustain precarious livelihoods and reduce losses caused by frequent floods.

Last updated: 12 March 2008