Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance her Department is providing to help tackle climate change in (a) India, (b) Sri Lanka, (c) Nepal and (d) Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

The UK is fully committed to supporting all countries tackle the impacts of climate change.

We are partnering with India on its low carbon transition and on climate adaptation, accelerating investment in clean and resilient infrastructure, and mobilising regional and global climate action. For example, the Infrastructure for Climate Resilient Growth programme integrates climate risk and adaptation into social protection and has supported 1.4 million people so far to cope with the effects of climate change.

The UK's £500 million Blue Planet Fund supports countries, including Sri Lanka and India, to protect the marine environment and tackle climate issues.

The UK has committed over £350 million of climate support to Nepal in the past 5 years. The Climate Smart Development programme has improved the resilience of 700,000 poor and vulnerable people to floods, landslides, and droughts.

In Afghanistan, we have been supporting communities impacted by extreme climatic events through emergency humanitarian support through NGO and UN Partners.

At COP26, the UK launched Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) a 7-year, regional Indo-Pacific programme designed to strengthen climate resilience. The programme aims to mobilise climate finance, strengthen water security, conserve ecosystems and biodiversity, and help vulnerable communities lead local adaptation efforts, with up to £274 million spend. CARA will support countries across the Indo-Pacific, including India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.