As the UK Government pledges £165 million to tackle climate change and gender equality, we're calling for this funding to not to be part of the diminished UK aid pot.
Responding to the UK Government’s announcement that £165 million of UK funding will progress gender equality while tackling climate change. Sophie Rigg, Senior Climate Adviser at ActionAid UK says:
“The UK Government’s announcement of funding for local communities, grassroots women’s groups, and women’s leadership in climate action is a welcome step in the right direction. Women and girls on the frontlines of the crisis and are best placed to address the challenges they are facing day in and day out, which is why it is imperative they are meaningfully involved in climate action at all levels.
“However world leaders still have a long way to go. They need to realise that addressing the entwined challenges of gender equality and climate change cannot be achieved with one off funding to Asia and the Pacific. Gender equality is not a ‘bolt-on’ – it needs to be baked into all climate financing and climate action across all continents.
“This funding should not be part of the diminished UK aid pot which has already faced harsh cuts this year impacting progress on women’s rights. The UK Government needs to step up and provide new and additional funding for the communities at the sharp end of this crisis.
“ActionAid UK research projects that if global temperatures rise by 2°C rather than being limited to 1.5°C, at least 40 million more women and girls will experience drought by 2050.
The challenge is immense – especially for women and girls. We need new funding which is proportionate, and we need it now.”
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