The United Kingdom’s government is “playing with fire” with the aid budget and any further cuts will “undermine trust” in the COP 26 negotiations, Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland, warned Monday.
Ban Ki-Moon, former United Nations secretary-general, also said it was time for the British government to show leadership amid recent criticism of the government’s handling of the summit.
Both former statespeople were speaking in their capacity as members of the Elders, a group of former world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to work on issues relating to sustainable development.
UK aid budget could face third round of cuts, experts warn
Economists fear the U.K. government's forthcoming spending review could wipe even more from the embattled aid budget, jeopardizing the U.K.'s position in the world.
Robinson, chair of the Elders, said she had “long admired” U.K. leadership on development spending and called the government’s decision to cut the aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of national income, “very sad and very bad timing with the Presidency of the COP.”
Referencing reports that the aid budget could be cut further as a result of the U.K. government’s spending review expected Oct. 27, she added: “If they cut more, they will undermine trust, and we’re playing with fire here.”
“I’m very worried that there’s a short termism in populist politics that I don’t like at all, and there’s some evidence of it in some of the measures which are being contemplated, the [spending] review measures,” Robinson said. “This is not about the politics of now, it's about the future of humanity.”
Her remarks were echoed by a paper from the think tank Overseas Development Institute also released Monday. It said that large amounts of U.K. bilateral aid used to go to low-income countries that were most vulnerable to climate risks, but this was being scrapped to preserve the U.K.’s climate finance contribution — also funded by ODA — in a smaller aid budget.
“The UK’s sleight of hand with ODA and climate finance therefore risks sabotaging negotiations … near-sighted decisions by the Treasury are threatening success at COP26,” said the report.
Key to the upcoming summit in Glasgow, Robinson said, will be securing agreement on limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, delivering the promised $100 billion of climate finance — which is already a year late — and boosting funding for climate adaptation.
Meanwhile, Moon suggested the U.K. had a special position as the host of COP 26, a summit he described as the most important climate gathering since the Paris COP in 2015, and called on the nation to “decisively show political leadership.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticized for his absence from climate negotiations in recent weeks, having been on holiday in Spain. The complex logistics surrounding the summit have also raised concerns over the inclusivity of the event.
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.
