A cross-party report by Parliament's International Development Committee has warned that cuts to the UK's international aid budget have stopped Britain from fully following through on its commitments to help the world's poorest countries fund measures to tackle climate change.
The warning comes as experts predict the El Niño phenomenon - a pattern that sees sea temperatures rise in the Pacific - will create more extreme weather events across the globe.
Critical damage to UK leadership
The document states that cuts made by successive governments mean the UK is not delivering on promises on International Climate Finance (ICF). Ministers have been told this has caused critical damage to the UK's ability to lead on climate change.
Labour MP Sarah Champion, who chairs the committee, said: "Our report comes at a time when it has never been more critical to mitigate and manage the impacts of climate change, which is swiftly reversing development progress in vulnerable countries.
"We have recently witnessed this with the disaster in Nepal, while El Niño threatens to trigger further humanitarian crises by worsening water security and pushing more people into acute food shortages. Against this backdrop, the global community has a responsibility to step up and the UK should be leading by example to encourage the biggest emitters to follow suit.
"However, we heard how official development assistance cuts have caused critical damage to the UK's ability to demonstrate leadership in the climate space."
Aid budget reductions
The report urges the government to redouble its efforts to meet international climate change commitments after slashing its aid budget. Last year Keir Starmer announced this was being reduced from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3% in 2027, with the money going to defence instead. This is expected to save £6.5 billion in 2027/28.
In March the UK announced it is committed to spending around £6 billion on ICF over three years. It will also plough £6.7 billion to drive international climate change projects.
Community energy investment
The report comes as the government rolls out the first wave of public community energy investment - with local authorities and community groups able to access funding for clean energy projects. Great British Energy has launched £30 million funding with the aim of supporting more than 1,000 projects across the UK.
Andy Burnham said: "I know many people are worried about climate change and feel like they’ve got no control over where their energy comes from, or how they can actually make a difference.
"Today we're changing that by giving people power. Whether it's solar panels on a local library or a community-owned wind farm, we’re letting people decide what clean energy projects they want and making sure they feel the benefits of the clean energy transition in their pockets too."
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: "All of us felt deep concern for our climate during the record-breaking temperatures we experienced this summer.
"Ahead of New York Climate week, we are putting power in the hands of people and places, so more communities can take action. Everyone deserves a stake in our energy future and through these local power projects, communities can reap the full benefits of clean energy – reducing emissions, cutting bills and reinvesting profits to benefit local areas, instead of big energy companies."
