Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Paragraph: 40
We welcome the collaboration the Prince of Wales has given to the Great Green Wall...
Recommendation
We welcome the collaboration the Prince of Wales has given to the Great Green Wall initiative through the Sustainable Markets Initiative. The UK Government, however, is not as engaged as it could be in initiatives, such as the Great Green Wall, 40 Lagos calling: Nigeria and the Integrated Review that take a holistic and integrated approach to climate adaptation and mitigation— addressing multiple causes and effects of climate change simultaneously. This is despite the shared benefits for the UK and Nigeria on the ground, as well as the potential for addressing the root causes of more proximate issues to the UK, such as terrorism and illegal immigration, and to Nigeria, such as conflict and food insecurity. To maintain a coherent approach, and to maximise the benefits of the multiple initiatives to raise finance and build capacity for projects, we recommend that the FCDO champion Nigerian-led international climate initiatives with a broader holistic vision, such as the Great Green Wall, contributing where the UK can add value. There are opportunities for the FCDO to bring together its expertise in diplomacy, aid and trade to support these efforts as well as supporting UK NGOs already engaged at African Union level. One such action could include convening multilateral bodies and grass roots groups to aid greater collaboration toward delivery and measurement of trans-national projects. The FCDO’s approach should be outlined in the integrated delivery plan.
Paragraph Reference:
40
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We partially agree with this recommendation. The UK supports regional climate initiatives through institutions such as the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, African Development Bank and the World Bank – we estimate that over $300m is being put into the Lake Chad Basin climate space from these institutions over the next five years. However, we assess we can deliver more effective support from our funding through our bilateral programming, where we are supporting effective climate-smart agriculture and land regeneration at a cost of less than £20 per tonne of CO2 equivalent and leveraging large amounts of private sector investment, including from UK companies such as ReGen Farms and potentially international banks such as Rabobank. We will increase engagement with the multilateral initiatives working on regional multilateral climate programming to share lessons learned from our bilateral programming, and work closely with Nigeria-only programmes such as the World Bank’s ACRESAL (Arid Land Programme) to increase its impact and synergises with our own programming.