UK commits £50 million climate network to link over 60 developing countries
Press release
The UK today committed £50 million to help over 60 of the world’s poorest countries access the latest climate research, helping them understand how best to tackle climate change in the years following December’s Copenhagen negotiations.
The Climate and Development Knowledge Network, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), will link developing countries with leading climate experts, allowing them to commission and share knowledge on how best to tackle the potentially devastating effects of climate change.
Currently there is a wealth of research in the developed world which poorer nations have been unable to access or interpret for their own use.
Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, said:
“The UK will be fighting hard for a strong deal on finance at Copenhagen to help developing nations tackle climate change.
“Yet, for this funding to make the biggest difference, recipient governments need the detailed research which rich nations take for granted to make their decisions.
“That’s why the UK is establishing this groundbreaking network, helping rich and poor countries across the globe to work together in the fight against climate change “
The Climate and Development Knowledge Network, funded over five years by DFID, will have three key functions:
* Making the latest high-quality research accessible and sharing it among those connected by the network; and
* Allowing developing countries to commission new climate research that they don’t currently have the resources to perform themselves.
* Providing direct support and building capacity in developing countries to develop their climate change plans.
The Network will enable developing countries to share cutting edge knowledge on clean technologies such as solar energy and hydro power generation, so that countries can decide what the most viable options for them are and how best to implement them.
It will help to share or perform research on present and future weather patterns, enabling the millions of people currently threatened by floods, droughts and natural disasters to prepare for climate change.
For more information please contact James Fulker in the DFID Press Office on 0207 023 0533; j-fulker@dfid.gov.uk