Financing climate resilience

eGov Monitor: In response to the growing recognition that climate change and development are inextricably linked, the UK is providing £800 million to help tackle the challenge. This was announced by the Chancellor in the 2007 Budget.

The aim of this joint DFID/Defra fund, known as the international Environmental Transformation Fund, is to support development and poverty reduction through better environmental management, and help developing countries respond to the realities of climate change. £50 million has been earmarked to help safeguard the forests of the Congo basin.

DFID, Defra and other Whitehall departments have been involved in discussions about using the £800 million to stimulate a bigger global effort for more funding to help tackle climate change and poverty. This has led to a proposal for a multilateral financing mechanism to pool funding from different donors. The current proposal is for a Strategic Climate Fund (SCF) to be administered by the World Bank. This would channel funds into a Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to help developing countries grow in cleaner, more efficient ways, for example by using new and innovative technologies that cut down on carbon emissions.

The SCF would also channel funds to other climate related investments including forestry and a Pilot Programme on Climate Resilience (the PPCR) that aims to help vulnerable countries deal with climate impacts such as flooding....