Select committee: International Development Committee
Conclusion 48
Second Report - Global Britain in demand: UK climate action and international development around COP26
Published 26 Oct 2021
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee Climate change, development and COP26 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The UK is a top contributor to the four multilateral climate funds including the GCF.102 As such, it has influence on their policies and procedures. The UK was also instrumental in the establishment of the Least Developed Countries Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience (LIFE-AR), whose goal is to channel 70% of climate finance directly to 94 Q41 [Gebru Jember] 95 British Red Cross (CDC0028) 96 Q41 – Q44 [Gebru Jember, Questions 41 to 44] 97 Q31 [Julius Ng’oma] 98 Q31 [Julius Ng’oma] 99 Q45 [Eileen Mairena Cunningham] 100 Q45 [Eileen Mairena Cunningham] 101 Q48 [Eileen Mairena Cunningham] 102 Of the estimated £21.4 billion held by the four main multilateral climate funds - the Adaptation Fund, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the UK is responsible for almost one-eighth of all pledges made by donor countries. Source: International Development Committee calculations (as of 8 October 2021). 20 Global Britain in demand: UK climate action and international development around COP26 local levels in LDCs.103 Yet, we heard that the UK had only provided funding to LIFE-AR on an annual basis to date, as opposed to the 10-year partnership funding requested by the LDC Group.104
From: International Development Committee, Second Report - Global Britain in demand: UK climate action and international development around COP26 (HC 99), 26 October 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 January 2022 (deadline 26 December 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response to the Committee's report is mostly 'Partially agree', with 'Agree' on two recommendations, while declining the Committee's 31 January 2022 deadline for a locally-led adaptation pathway.
- On locally-led adaptation, it says it "agree[s] that locally led adaptation is critical" but is "not able to agree" to submit a pathway by 31 January 2022, citing the need to work with others, in particular Egypt as incoming COP27 Presidency. It "will report on progress by 31 March".
- On climate finance access, it agrees and says it is working to update the International Climate Finance Strategy and "aim to publish this by April 2022". It is not "proposing a simplification of the criteria for LDCs and SIDS per se", but a streamlined accreditation approach.
- On fossil fuel exemptions, it partially agrees, stating the exemptions are for "a small number of situations" and are "necessary to make this policy work in the real world". BII is developing a carbon budget and "will share this information with the Committee in due course".
- On a Climate and Development Minister, it partially agrees, stating there is "already strong ministerial oversight for this policy area", with Lord Goldsmith holding responsibility for climate and environment.