Leaked documents have revealed that the government is
hoping to scrap its £11.6 billion climate and nature pledge.
This pledge was agreed at COP26, which was hosted both by
the UK and by Italy, and was held on the 1st-12th
November 2021. Due to the delay of a year, some may believe that COP26 was a
very important event in climate history, with several big promises. But what is
that if the promises aren’t kept?
The pledge was to increase international climate finance and help less privileged countries fight climate change. A briefing note to ministers given to the Foreign Office was seen by the Guardian and therefore exposed. The note disclosed that factors such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the need for humanitarian aid for females meant that there wasn’t enough money to fund all those things.
The discovery has sparked fury from former ministers and
representatives of the less privileged countries, some of which said Rishi
Sunak had made “false promises”. Zac Goldsmith, a former Foreign Office minister
resigned last week following the leakage. He said that our [the UK’s]
reputation as a reliable partner will simply be shredded.”