Ministers announce £600,000 for Climate Justice Innovation Fund

Ministers have unveiled £600,000 in funding to help communities in Malawi and Zambia build resilience to the effects of climate change.

The money from the Climate Justice Innovation Fund will be distributed to projects providing training in ‘climate smart’ agricultural practices, testing the use of artesian water for sustainable farming, and piloting the use of solar ovens and biogas as a fuel source.

Between 2012 and 2021 the Climate Justice Fund will provide at least £21m to mitigate the effects of climate change in developing countries.

Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “We have a moral responsibility to do what we can to tackle the effects of climate change, particularly as they will be felt most strongly by those vulnerable communities who have done the least to cause it.

“This funding will support innovative projects directly help local communities, from piloting solar ovens in co-op bakery businesses to helping 200 farmers use climate resilient methods to diversify the crop production.

“At a time when Scotland has almost halved our greenhouse gas emissions, I am proud the Climate Justice Innovation Fund is providing much needed investment to empower some of Africa’s most vulnerable communities to find new skills and their own solutions to make them more resilient to the effects of climate change.”