The UK PM said he was already helping countries deal with climate change as he faced calls to pay reparations for the environmental damage inflicted on the planet.
New announcements include £65.5 million for green tech innovation and significant clean energy investments with Kenya and Egypt as PM Rishi Sunak attended the UN COP27 climate change summit in Egypt.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate change secretary, told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, said a Labour government would pay reparations to developing countries for climate change.
Loss and Damage funds, a plan to get rich nations that benefited from fossil fuels via the Industrial Revolution to pay compensation to developing states, have been part of negotiations in Egypt.
“This is about global solidarity, yes we have some historical responsibility, but this is about global solidarity and it’s absolutely part of our aid commitment,” said Miliband.
“We recognise the existential threat it poses to countries around the world, from flooding to drought, and that’s why we have made a commitment to these countries to support them on that front.”
The projects include new and expanded solar and geothermal power plants in Kenya backed by British International Investment, UK export financing for Nairobi’s ground-breaking Railway City, and a major public-private partnership on the $3 billion Grand High Falls Dam hydropower project led by UK firm GBM Engineering.
The UK’s funding includes £11.6 billion for spending on international climate finance. It is also tripling funding for climate adaptation from £500 million to £1.5 billion in 2025.
Net Zero Watch’s Head of Policy Harry Wilkinson told The Epoch Times that the idea that the Industrial Revolution is something that the UK should be paying reparations for is “quite absurd.”
Net Zero Watch, which was founded by the former Chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson, scrutinises climate and decarbonisation policies.
Wilkinson said that fossil fuels may be an important part of developing countries’ future development.
“Talking about restricting their use in those countries, we may in many cases be making them less able to respond to these climate-related events,” he said.
“There is a desire within net zero agenda to decide which technology people are going to use,” he said.
“Traditionally capitalism has worked through consumer choice. People weren’t banned from riding on horses when the motor car came in. People chose products that they wanted and made their lives better whereas now we are facing the prospect of petrol and diesel cars being banned, gas boilers being banned, and higher taxes on air travel. All of these things are about restricting consumer choice,” he added.
“We have to be careful about forcing consumers to buy some products and banning alternatives because that kind of approach will lead to people being much poorer,” he added.
