Cameron under fire for UK’s Green Climate Fund donation

Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to pledge £650m to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at a 'donor's conference' in Berlin this week, despite criticism from Tory backbenchers.


Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell attacked the plan in the House of Commons, saying: “It sends a confusing message to people affected by flooding here that we are spending so much on flood defences overseas rather than at home”.

Defending the decision, Cameron said : “When I think about problems we face in our country – pressure of asylum seekers or pressure of immigration – our aid budget is not the answer but is part of the answer.

“If we can solve some of the underlying problems in some of these countries, and sometimes instability caused by the effects of climate change, by the fact it is getting harder in these countries to feed people, then we’re doing the right thing.”

He stressed that the money would come from existing aid budgets and would not burden taxpayers, but the £650m figure has yet to be officially confirmed.

G20 

France and Germany are also expected to donate around $1bn at the confernece on Thursday (20 November), helping the GCF towards an informal fundraising target of $10bn set by the UN.

Last week at the G20 summit in Australia, President Obama pledged up to $3bn and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe donated $1.5bn.

Obama said the fund would help vulnerable communities by installing early warning systems, stronger defences against storm surges and climate-resilient infrastructure. 

Brad Allen

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