SCOTLAND will "lead by example" in the global fight to combat climate change, Nicola Sturgeon has said as she announced the Government's Climate Justice fund will treble.
The Scottish Government had already committed to doubling the fund - which helps developing nations deal with the impacts of climate change - to £24 million within this parliament.
Now the FM has said that another £12m will be added to the fund which was launched in 2012.
The new money will take the Scottish Government's annual contribution via the fund to £9m.
Delivering on climate finance is key to success at #COP26
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 11, 2021
Scotland’s a small nation but can lead by example.
Having already committed to doubling our Climate Justice fund, I’m announcing we’ll treble it instead.
I call on other countries to step up too https://t.co/D3tq7sfKdQ
The Scottish contribution to the fund will account for 0.012% of the 100 billion US dollars each year that rich nations pledged to poorer nations at the COP summit in Copenhagen in 2009.
However, a report for the UN last year concluded that “the only realistic scenarios” show the 100 billion-dollar promise is set to be broken.
Sturgeon called on larger countries with more resources to recognise their moral responsibility and adopt a “can-do” attitude for the final days of COP26 to secure a successful outcome.
The First Minister said: “It is clear that fair climate finance is the key to making real progress at COP26.
“Every vulnerable or developing country I have spoken with has big ambitions for meeting the climate crisis but they do not have the funding for adaptation, for mitigation, or for tackling the loss and damage that is needed to deliver.
READ MORE: COP26 LIVE: Talks enter final days in push to reach a deal at climate summit
“Twelve years on from the commitment by developed nations to provide funding of 100 billion dollars a year, that is simply not good enough.
“It is time for leaders of developed countries, large and small, to do what is needed to bridge the remaining gap, and put on the table now the money that is needed to make good on past commitments and unlock progress in other areas.
“Scotland is a relatively small country of just five million people, and we do not have substantial powers of borrowing. That means our contribution will always be relatively small in a global context. However, we can still lead by example and there has never been a more vital time to do so.
“All of my conversations with delegates from the global south over these two weeks – and the obvious need to increase the overall ambition of the draft cover text published yesterday – have convinced me that rich countries must do more on finance in the final hours of COP if we are to secure the best possible outcome. That is not charity, it is our obligation.
“Accordingly, the Scottish Government – having already committed to doubling our climate justice fund to £24 million in this Parliament – has now decided to increase it by a further £12 million. That means since the fund opened in 2012, we will have trebled Scotland’s contribution to Climate Justice.
READ MORE: First Minister to push for climate justice for those in Global South during COP26
“This increased funding will also build on our ground breaking contribution to loss and damage, by doubling our contribution to addressing loss and damage to £2 million.
“My message today is simple. If Scotland can up its contribution, there is no good reason why the larger, developed countries around the negotiating table cannot do so too.
“I call on all leaders to step up and secure the outcome from this Glasgow COP that our planet needs.”
Welcoming the news that Scotland will significantly increase its Climate Justice Fund, Jamie Livingstone (above), head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “This announcement from the First Minister has hugely raised the stakes as the COP26 talks enter their final few hours: sending a powerful message to the leaders of other rich nations that it’s simply unconscionable to leave poor countries picking up the tab for a climate crisis they did least to cause.
“Other governments must now step up and follow Scotland’s lead by making substantial new financial commitments to developing countries, where people are already losing their lives, homes and livelihoods to climate change.”
Nushrat Chowdhury (below, left of Sturgeon), the Bangladesh-based climate justice adviser to Christian Aid, met Sturgeon earlier this week through COP26.
She said: "Climate change loss and damage is a reality, and the emitting countries need to step up and support accordingly. When I met Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier this week to discuss this issue, it was refreshing to hear her talk about loss and damage so openly. The Scottish Government’s support is a breakthrough which others urgently need to follow."
Christian Aid Scotland’s Chris Hegarty added: "This is a welcome and important announcement from the Scottish Government, one which we hope will put pressure on other wealthy country governments around the world as COP26 enters its critical phase.
"Climate finance is clearly a major sticking point and, as Scotland’s First Minister has acknowledged, those countries whose economies have been built on fossil fuel use must step up to their financial responsibilities in order to make the progress that we all want to see."
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