Nicola Sturgeon announces £1m in funding to help developing countries react to climate change

Nicola Sturgeon has committed £1m in funding to support developing countries to respond to climate change.

Speaking at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Sturgeon said the funding was aimed at helping developing countries measure climate change and track its impacts, and improving global assessment of progress following the Paris climate agreement.

Sturgeon said: “Scotland may not geographically be part of the Arctic Circle, but like every delegate here today we are committed to acting on climate change and limiting global temperature increases to below 1.5 degrees.

RELATED CONTENT

Energy Saving Trust: 2015 saw biggest increase in renewable heat output since records began

The Scottish Government will block underground coal gasification

“We know the most damaging effects of climate change are in developing nations and fall disproportionately on the very young, the very old and the very poor.

“That’s why Scotland was the first national government in the world to establish a Climate Justice Fund, which now supports 11 projects in some of the world’s poorest communities in four sub-Saharan African countries.

“Following the Paris Agreement on climate change, countries can’t just stand back and wait - we all have to deliver. The funding I am announcing today will help developing countries better measure and track climate change, leading to a greater global understanding of how effective we are in limiting its effects.

“This is also a clear signal that we’ll do everything we can to remain an open, outward looking country that works to strengthen our partnerships around the world.”

The funding, from the Scottish Government’s Climate Justice Fund, will go to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Capacity-Building Initiative for Transparency.