Inclusive climate action

First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced that C40 Cities will receive £1 million from Scotland’s Climate Justice Fund to focus efforts on tackling loss and damage in marginalised communities.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with direct-funding charity GiveDirectly, will also provide a further £1 million from the fund to support communities in Malawi to deal with the impacts of climate-induced loss and damage.

The First Minister was speaking at a COP28 panel discussion with delegates from Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and France, and a youth representative from Argentina, on Scotland’s contribution to addressing loss and damage.

C40 Cities is a global network of nearly 100 mayors committed to halving their fair share of emissions by 2030. The Scottish Government will work with C40 Cities through their Inclusive Climate Action programme to address urban loss and damage, support sub-Saharan Africa’s first local Just Transition process and address losses and damages faced by climate migrant communities.

The latest funding allocations fulfil the commitment to treble the Climate Justice Fund to £36 million over the course of this Parliament. 

First Minister Humza Yousaf said:

“Our world-first Climate Justice Fund will continue to focus on communities most affected by climate change, and in order to deliver for those who need it most we must ensure the views and needs of those typically marginalised in such communities – particularly urban voices from the Global South and youth perspectives – are heard.

“This funding for the Inclusive Climate Action programme will support cities in the Global South to deliver local inclusive climate action, build resilience for residents, pilot city-led approaches to loss and damage and build cities’ influence in global policy debates.

“While of immense importance, we cannot just provide funding to deal with the effects of climate-induced loss and damage alone.

“Devolved governments have a crucial and essential role to play in addressing loss and damage and the global journey to net zero – responsibility for over half of the emissions cuts needed at a global level lie with devolved state and regional governments. The C40 Cities programme aligns with our Climate Justice principles, and will provide cities with support that builds resilience and can be scaled up to meet community need.”

Mayor of Freetown and C40 Co-Chair Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr said:

“The climate crisis is a global issue which causes local pain and consequences across generations. Loss and damage is fundamentally an issue of climate justice, as those who have contributed the least to climate breakdown are the ones who most bear the brunt of its chaos. This is true between countries and regions, but also between generations and gender, as well as within our cities, where the most vulnerable are the most severely affected.

“I thank the Scottish Government for its leadership in climate justice and support to C40. This funding will support cities in the Global South to deliver for their residents through local inclusive climate action, building resilience and piloting innovative city-led approaches to loss and damage.” 

Background

Climate Justice Fund - International development - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The £1 million for C40 and £1 million for GiveDirectly come from the existing £36 million Climate Justice Fund. The latest allocations bring the total allocated funds from the Climate Justice Fund to address loss and damage to £10 million from the total £36 million Fund. The £10 million allocated funding consists:

• £2 million pledged at COP26
• £5 million pledged at COP27
• £1 million pledged during Climate Week NYC 2023
• £2 million announced by First Minister Humza Yousaf at COP28

C40 Cities - A global network of mayors taking urgent climate action

C40 Cities has launched a first-of-its-kind report on urban loss and damage and city-led responses. Made possible by the Climate Justice Fund, the report identifies key areas where local governments can play a role, as well as recommendations for national and international actors to better support, involve and work with cities and mayors at the forefront of these challenges.