Christian Aid welcomes Government's £100m towards 'carbon debt'

Christian Aid has welcomed Government plans to spend £100 million over the next five years helping poorer countries deal with the impact of global warming.

The international development agency said the plans were a welcome acknowledgement of the "carbon debt" industrialised countries owe the developing world.

The new funding was announced on Wednesday by International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander who highlighted the right of poorer countries to continue to develop economically.

In announcing the funding, Mr Alexander said: "Climate change is a defining global social justice issue. If we fail to tackle climate change we risk condemning the world's poorest people to poverty for generations to come.

"At the same time, we must not allow the climate change debate to neglect - or even prevent - the right of developing countries to grow. Development and climate change are - and must be seen as - inextricably linked."


Christian Aid warned, however, that the funding must be additional to money pledged to the developing world as aid which has yet to be delivered in full.

The agency said it was crucial that rich countries responsible for most carbon pollution assist poorer nations already bearing the brunt of climate change through extreme climate conditions.

Christian Aid senior climate change policy analyst Andrew Pendleton said: "The countries that have done the least to cause climate change are the ones that are suffering most from its effects.

"If richer countries are unwilling to help developing countries meet the costs involved, poorer countries will have little incentive to play their part. Instead, they will be able to say with a great deal of justification that they are being asked to forego future development to solve a problem not of their making."

The funding is needed to help poorer nations cope with the impact of global warming, and encourage them to make cuts in greenhouse gas emissions without depriving them of the chance to create jobs and better lives for their people.

"Provided it is spent on building up local knowledge and expertise in countries worst affected, then it will be a welcome if relatively small contribution," continued Mr Pendleton. "The money should also, in principle, be in addition to any assistance we've already promised to poor countries."

The climate change funding will be spent on researching the impact of global warming on poor and vulnerable communities, and the best ways for individuals, governments and the private sector to prepare for the future. It is not clear at this stage how this will be done and whether institutions and organisations in the developing world will benefit.

"If this funding is about flying in expensive consultants from rich countries to tell poor people how to respond and then flying them out again taking most of their knowledge with them, it will be ineffective," said Mr Pendleton.

A climate change centre will also be established to provide developing countries with the expertise to understand and work with the physical, social and economic impacts of climate change.