Scottish Government doubles support for countries hit hardest by climate change
The Scottish Government has doubled its support for poor countries hit hardest by climate change to £12 million, the First Minister has announced.
The Scottish Government has doubled its support for poor countries hit hardest by climate change to £12 million, the First Minister has announced.
Nicola Sturgeon said it is a massive injustice'' that the developing countries that have produced the lowest greenhouse gasses are facing the worst consequences from other countries' pollution.
Ms Sturgeon was expected to make the announcement at the UN global climate change summit in Paris today, ahead of a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.
She said: We know that the most vulnerable are worst affected by climate change: the very young, the very old, the ill, and the very poor. Women are suffering disproportionately, since they are often the main providers of food, fuel and water.
So, the people who have done least to cause climate change, and are least equipped to cope with its consequences, are the people who are being hit hardest. The scale of the injustice is massive.
Now, the first and most important priority in tackling this injustice has to be to address climate change itself.
That's why Scotland backs the case for an ambitious agreement at the Paris summit - one which is capable of limiting temperature increases to below two degrees Celsius. And we are determined to lead by example - we have some of the most ambitious statutory targets anywhere in the world.
But we also know that work needs to happen now. In 2012 we became the first national government in the world to establish a climate justice fund and we have had some fantastic results.
That's why I can announce today that we are doubling our funding for the Climate Justice Fund to £12 million over the next four years.''
Scotland's Climate Justice Fund has already invested #6 million for 11 projects in four sub-Saharan African countries in the last five years, including providing around 30,000 people with safe water in Malawi.
SCIAF's director Alistair Dutton said Scotland's donation sets a positive example to other wealthy nations meeting in Paris''.
Head of Oxfam Scotland Jamie Livingstone said Scotland is showing crucial leadership during the Paris talks''.
Prof Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said Scotland's approach to climate justice helps to ensure that the developed countries - like Scotland and the UK - understand their responsibility to mitigate their own carbon emissions''.
Tom Ballantine, of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said: Tackling climate change is an issue of justice. Like other wealthy nations, Scotland benefited greatly from the era of fossil fuels, and it means we owe a climate debt to the world's poorest people, who are the most affected by climate change.
We're very pleased by the Scottish Government's ongoing commitment to the Climate Justice Fund. We hope that other governments in Paris will now follow Scotland's example, and provide urgently needed support to people who are already struggling against the effects of climate change.''