Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking alongside international partners in sub-Saharan Southern Africa to help tackle climate change.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is engaged in a range of steps with international partners in sub-Saharan Southern Africa to help tackle climate change. The FCDO works closely with governments, regional institutions, multilateral development banks, the UN system and scientific partners across sub-Saharan Africa to help countries respond to climate change, strengthen resilience and unlock sustainable economic growth.

This includes through our contribution to multilaterals such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) supporting climate action at scale, with the fund spending $7.7bn in Africa to support resilience building and climate mitigation.

We work with international partners through specific initiative such as South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This supports the country's transition from coal to cleaner energy, helping to mobilise finance, accelerate renewable energy deployment, strengthen electricity infrastructure, and support affected workers and communities.

Our flagship Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) Africa programme with the UK Met Office supports African partners to strengthen regional leadership on climate and nature and improve access of climate information and support action that delivers both resilience and sustainable development outcomes. In addition, the UK supports climate resilience across Africa through programmes including the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative, and a range of clean energy and sustainable development programmes. These initiatives are delivered in partnership with African institutions, international organisations, development finance institutions and scientific organisations to help countries prepare for extreme weather events, protect livelihoods and accelerate climate-resilient growth.