Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking with her counterparts in Commonwealth countries to ensure that UK aid is directed effectively to communities which are disproportionately affected by lockdowns due to the covid-19 outbreak; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Multilateral organisations, including the United Nations, International Financial Institutions and the Commonwealth, have an important role to play in the global response to COVID-19. We are working with all our international partners in order to galvanise a stronger global effort.
We are preventing the poorest countries, which represent a quarter of the world’s population, from collapse by supporting their economies and access to skills and education. Economic disruption hits the world’s poor the most, and would deepen a global recession, making it harder for all of us to bounce back and prosper.
DFID has programming and/or a presence in 40 of the 54 Commonwealth member countries. We have assessed existing DFID bilateral programmes that are relevant, wholly or in part, for our response to COVID-19. Some existing DFID bilateral programmes are already being adapted to support vulnerable communities affected by COVID-19 in partner countries. For example, in Bangladesh UKAID is providing a package of assistance that includes support towards the Government’s National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 and help to maintain essential humanitarian services. It is also helping to prepare Rohingya and host communities for COVID-19 preparedness in the Rohingya refugee camps. Further changes to bilateral programmes will be considered in response to the evolving situation.
We will continue to engage with Governments and international organisations in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that the perspectives and interests of Commonwealth member states – particularly the smallest and most vulnerable – are well understood in international fora.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the potential benefits which investment in renewable energy generation methods can bring to developing countries; what research has been undertaken on how this might be achieved; what funding is proposed to be made available for this purpose; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID’s energy work is aligned with the new Global Goals, particularly Goal 7, to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. DFID’s energy work is guided by international studies including, for example, by the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme based at the World Bank. Recent research by the International Renewable Energy Agency indicates that investment in renewable energy increases GDP, improves welfare, creates more jobs and shifts patterns of trade.
DFID provides significant funding to support renewable energy work, including through the UK Government’s International Climate Finance (ICF) allocation, as well as spend through multilateral funds, such as the Climate Investment Funds and the Green Climate Fund, which have significant renewable energy components.