Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Deferred
Trade-offs between poverty alleviation and climate objectives are not openly acknowledged
Recommendation
The Government should not hide behind the complexities of the global clean energy transition. Aid must advance poverty alleviation while also contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation. While these objectives can sometimes pull in different directions, trade-offs should be openly acknowledged, publicly debated, and addressed through deliberate and transparent policy choices. This is not happening at present. (Conclusion, Paragraph 65)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government partially agrees, but its response does not address the recommendation to openly acknowledge and debate trade-offs in aid policy. Instead, it focuses on deepening collaboration with DESNZ, embedding lessons learnt, and commissioning a study on UK secondary benefits to inform two-way learning between domestic and international energy initiatives by March 2026.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
Government Response 43. We acknowledge the complexity of balancing poverty alleviation with climate mitigation and adaptation and agree that these trade-offs should be addressed transparently. We are committed to ensuring that UK aid delivers on both objectives in a deliberate and evidence-based way. While these priorities can diverge, we are working to improve openness in decision-making and strengthen policy coherence. This includes publishing of clearer strategies, engaging stakeholders in dialogue, and embedding trade-off analysis into programme design to ensure choices are transparent and accountable. We are confident that our clean energy access programming is very much at the intersection of interventions targeting strong human development, economic, gender/inclusion, and climate and nature benefits.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗