UK 'must pay more for emissions'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/6699305.stm

Published: 2007/05/28 23:13:50 GMT

The UK must donate more money to poorer countries to help them cope with climate change, according to a charity.

Oxfam said Britain had pledged £20m in "adaptation funds" - but needed to pay a further £1.2bn.

They reached the figure by combining the amount of emissions a country produces with its ability to pay.

The government said it was spending "more money than ever" to lift people out of poverty and make them less vulnerable to climate change.

'Huge investments'

In the run-up to next month's G8 summit in Germany, Oxfam warned that £25bin was needed to fund projects in poor countries.

But the world's richest nations have so far pledged only £90m in total, the charity said.

"The UK has pledged at least £75 million to support adaptation directly" - DfID spokesman

Its report concluded developed countries should foot 80% of the bill for poorer countries to adapt.

Oxfam's Kate Raworth said: "Rich countries are already making huge investments at home to adapt to climate change - so they know the scale of the problem.

"But they are stalling when it comes to providing money for poorer countries to do the same."

She said developing countries "cannot and should not be expected to foot the bill for the impact of rich countries' emissions".

'At the forefront'

The UK is already the world's biggest contributor to adaptation projects.

But the charity said the UK should pay 5% of the £25bn needed.

A spokesman for the Department for International Development (DfID) the UK was "at the forefront of supporting poor countries adapt".

"The UK has pledged at least £75m to support adaptation directly.

"For example, at the grassroots level we are investing in schemes such as safer flood resistant housing for thousands of people in Bangladesh."

He said "more work needs to be done" to work out exactly how rich nations help poorer ones to adapt to climate change.

Read more... Sphere: Related Content