Despite global pledges to help the countries most vulnerable to climate change, ODI finds that some of the world’s poorest states are having to fund climate adaptation from their national budgets – diverting scarce resources that could otherwise be spent on tackling poverty.
Neil Bird, who authored the ODI report, said: ‘Since 2008 international funds have been skewed towards helping mainly middle-income countries cut their carbon emissions, rather than helping the poorest countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. In the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, international support to assist countries adapt to climate change has averaged only $130 million annually, far less than the $1.1 billion that UK alone spent on flood defences three years ago.’
ODI’s Executive Director Kevin Watkins spoke to the BBC Newsday about this report.
