Reports suggest that the Government plans to cut climate finance for the developing world.

If the reports are accurate the budget may be cut by more than a fifth in the next five-year cycle from £12bn to £9 billion.

Commenting on reports, Gareth Redmond-King, head of international programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: "If true, the Government's own recent national security assessment would suggest such a move risks being an act of self-harm for the UK.

“We import two fifths of our food from overseas, much grown in countries being hit hardest by extremes of heat and flood. The UK’s climate finance helps farmers in these countries to adapt their farming to maintain both their livelihoods and our food security. And with China potentially offering forms of climate finance to poorer nations which need it, the longer-term risk is to the UK’s relative power and influence around the world."

---