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Response on Practical Action’s “Climate change adaptation” campaign
October 2008
Thank you for your letter regarding the impacts of climate change on the world’s poorest people. I was interested to read about the campaign that Practical Action ran at the Glastonbury Festival.
You asked what the government is doing to help people in the world’s poorest countries adapt to climate change. The UK recognises that climate change will be felt most by those least well-equipped to cope. I believe that development is the best way of enabling poorer countries to be more prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change.
I also recognise that addressing the impacts of climate change will require significant additional finance. Exactly how much is not yet known, which is why the UK’s Department for International Development is funding research with the Dutch government into the costs of climate change adaptation.
However, action on climate change cannot wait. This is why the UK has led the way in committing substantial funding, including:
£100m to research climate change over next 5 years plus a further £5m for improving climate knowledge in Africa;
£20 million to the UN Special Funds to help developing countries to adapt to climate change, where we are the largest contributor;
£800 million to the Climate Investment Funds – roughly one third of which will be spent on helping developing countries to integrate climate resilience into their development plans.
We are also working with civil society, including Practical Action, to support climate change adaptation on the ground.
As well as increasing developing countries’ resilience to the effects of climate change, the UK is also striving for a fair global deal on mitigating the worst effects of climate change. The UK is working to ensure that developing countries have a voice in this new global deal and that climate change mitigation is consistent with growth and poverty reduction in developing countries.
Gordon Brown
Prime Minister