PRESS RELEASE : UK backs clean power innovation to speed up global energy transition [November 2024]

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 15 November 2024.

UK spearheads global efforts to combat climate change with a funding package to help developing countries transition to clean energy.

The UK will be leading support for countries on the front line of the climate crisis to make their transition to clean energy, in a new package of support unveiled by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband at COP29.

To tackle climate change at home and abroad, countries that are already suffering from its worst impacts need support to accelerate their transition to clean power, cut emissions and increase economic growth.

The funding will help climate vulnerable countries, including African nations and small island states, to develop new low-carbon technologies, with innovations in energy storage, zero emission generators and clean transport. It will also support innovations such as material and system efficiencies, which will be instrumental in decarbonising steel, chemicals, cement and concrete industries.

Delivering global action on climate change will help protect families and businesses in the UK and abroad, while accelerating global clean power to unlock the rewards of green economic growth.

The funding comes after the UK announced an ambitious target to reduce its emissions by 81 per cent by 2035 – showing leadership in tackling climate change while harnessing a range of benefits for the UK, including better jobs, cheaper bills and higher growth.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

Climate change does not respect borders, and the UK has seen a year of record-breaking warmth. That’s why we are determined to lead from the front and drive global change, to protect future generations at home and abroad.

This funding commitment from the UK is what we mean when we say we are back in the business of climate leadership, supporting the world’s most vulnerable and unlocking the global growth benefits of decarbonising economies.

Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy said:

Developing countries are often on the front line of the climate crisis, at higher risk of floods, heatwaves, and food insecurity, despite doing very little to cause it.

This funding is part of a key priority for us at COP29. It will support the flow of finance to these countries so they can adapt to a changing climate, building resilience and accessing clean energy for their own transition.

When the UK acts other countries follow, so we are leading by example to tackle the biggest challenge we face.

Funding pledges announced at COP29 include:

• £45 million of funding for the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) to support developing and emerging countries addressing energy challenges – making the UK the largest donor to a well-established World Bank Trust Fund.
• £15 million of funding for Innovate UK to support clean energy innovation in developing countries.
• £14 million of funding for United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to support the development of innovation projects in industrial decarbonisation and clean hydrogen.
• £5 million to help developing countries tackle methane emissions in their fossil fuel, supporting delivery of the Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26.

The funding is part of the UK’s existing £11.6 billion International Climate Finance commitment between 2021/22 and 2025/26 which is allocated from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget – delivering on a global commitment of 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income for developing countries.

At COP29 the UK has also set the direction of voluntary carbon markets, so they can channel more finance to developing countries. A new set of UK Integrity Principles will raise integrity in the generation, trade and use of carbon and nature credits, so that voluntary markets work better for people, nature and the planet.

Notes to editors

The funding announcement comes as the government has started the most significant investment programme in homegrown British energy through its clean power by 2030 mission – unlocking thousands of jobs and driving investment into UK communities. So far, the government has:

• lifted the ban on onshore wind in England
• delivered a record number of clean energy projects through its renewables auction, securing enough clean power to supply the equivalent of 11 million homes
• approved unprecedented amounts of nationally significant solar – 2GW – more than the last 14 years combined
• launched Great British Energy
• fired the starting gun on the UK’s Carbon Capture and Storage industry, with funding agreed for two clusters in Teesside and Merseyside

A total of £29 million of funding for Innovate UK and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is an allocation from the UK’s £1bn Ayrton Fund which supports clean energy innovation and industrial decarbonisation.