Nigeria to benefit as UK announces record climate aid contribution to GCF

At the recent gathering of G20 leaders in India, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, announced the UK’s biggest single financial contribution of £1.62 billion ($2 billion) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The fund is aimed at helping the world’s most vulnerable people adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change.

Established by 194 countries following the Copenhagen Accord at COP15, the GCF is the largest global fund dedicated to supporting developing countries to reduce global emissions and helping communities adapt to the effects of climate change.

The pledge represents a 12.7 percent increase on the UK’s previous contribution to the GCF for the period of 2020 to 2023, which was itself a doubling of the UK’s initial funding to establish the fund in 2014.

Reacting, UK High Commissioner in Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery said: “This recent contribution to the Green Climate Fund makes the UK one of its largest donors. The GCF is expected to deliver for developing countries like Nigeria, supporting a transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy and creation of jobs, promoting food security and tackling poverty.

“Nigeria is vulnerable to and increasingly impacted by climate change, and must be supported to access high quality climate finance proportionate to its size and needs. Therefore, we would like to see the GCF actively supporting Nigeria’s ambitious climate goals and working closely with the Nigerian Government to facilitate access and utilisation of the fund.”

At the G20 Summit, Sunak called on leaders to work together ahead of the COP28 Summit this December to both reduce their countries’ own carbon emissions and support vulnerable economies to deal with the consequences of climate change.

Addressing G20 leaders, he said: “The UK is stepping up and delivering on our climate commitments, both by decarbonising our own economy and supporting the world’s most vulnerable to deal with the impact of climate change.

“This is the kind of leadership that the world rightly expects from G20 countries. And this government will continue to lead by example in making the UK, and the world, more prosperous and secure.”

Increasing flows of sustainable finance is vital for all countries. The UK continues to work with Nigeria to mobilise public and private climate finance to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution and net-zero target. Through Infracredit, the UK is investing £10million concessional finance to enable pension funds and insurance companies invest in renewable energy and improve energy access.

The announcement marks a major contribution towards this commitment and follows the Prime Minister’s announcement at COP27 that the UK would triple funding for climate adaptation.

Since 2011 UK climate aid spending has helped over 95 million people cope with the effects of climate change and reduced or avoided over 68 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.