The UK is planning to cut its climate finance for developing countries by more than a fifth, from £11.6bn over the past five years to £9bn in the next five. The reduction, imposed by the Treasury, comes despite ministerial promises to increase assistance and warnings from campaigners that it will cost lives and livelihoods.
In real terms, accounting for inflation, the cut represents a reduction of about 40% in spending power since the £11.6bn budget was agreed in 2021. The move contradicts recent warnings from the UK's spy chiefs that the collapse of ecosystems such as the Amazon or the Congo could inflict serious damage on national security, including soaring food prices and the risk of war.
The cut comes a year after the UK and other rich countries promised to triple global climate finance to $300bn (£220bn) a year by 2035. Although that deal did not specify individual contributions, a reduction from the UK will make the total harder to reach. Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: "For vulnerable countries, UK climate finance isn't an abstract budget line – it's the difference between resilience and disaster."
Details of the new round of international climate finance, known as ICF4, are still being discussed within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The funding comes from the overseas aid budget, which was cut last year to 0.3% of gross national income. The £9bn pledge is expected to equate to £2bn a year for the next three years, falling to £1.5bn a year in 2029-30 and 2030-31.
Officials are also attempting to "rebadge" existing projects on education or health as climate finance, with some claiming that up to 30% of aid to least developed countries can be counted as climate finance. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper did not attend last year's Cop30 summit, and funding for nature conservation, including the Blue Planet Fund, is expected to be reduced. Harjeet Singh, co-founder of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, said the move "shreds the UK's standing on the world stage, proving to the global south that British promises are hollow."
