Addressing the unequal impacts of climate change

The First Minister Humza Yousaf has called on governments to accelerate financial support for countries most affected by climate-induced loss and damage, in a keynote speech during Climate Week NYC.

In the speech, the First Minister set out the details of how Scotland’s loss and damage finance - pledged at COP26 and COP27 - is being mobilised.

A total of £5 million has been awarded to the Climate Justice Resilience Fund who support vulnerable communities in the Global South who have experienced loss caused by climate change, with a specific focus on women and young people.

In addition, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) will receive a further £300,000 to support communities in Malawi impacted by Storm Freddy.

Scotland’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund will also receive an additional £1 million to support communities affected by disasters, disease or conflict, in recognition that climate change is increasingly driving humanitarian emergencies abroad.

The First Minister said:

“Not a single community on Earth will be left untouched by the effects of climate change, but that suffering is not and will not be divided equally.

“We must ensure the communities facing the worst hardship, with the least resources, are not left behind.

“At COP26, Scotland became the first country in the global north to pledge financial support to address that Loss and Damage.

“At COP27 we again led the way, committing another £5 million for the neglected area of non-economic loss and damage. We have made good on those promises but the need for urgent responses to climate shocks is only increasing.

“That is why I am also announcing a further £1 million programme to address loss and damage to be delivered through Scotland’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund.

“Scotland might be a small country but I hope these actions will inspire others to join us in not only making pledges, but in urgently mobilising the finances that are needed on the ground today.”

Background

The First Minister Humza Yousaf gave a keynote speech on Monday 18 September during an event at the New York Climate Hub called ‘Financing the Green Economy, Financing Climate Justice’.

At COP26, the Scottish Government committed £2 million in financial support to communities to address loss and damage. During COP27, the Scottish Government pledged an additional £5 million of funding to tackle loss and damage. Today’s announcements mean that all of this money has now been allocated.

Non-economic loss and damage can include forced displacement and impacts on cultural heritage, human mobility and the lives and livelihoods of local communities.