£600,000 For Projects To Help Communities In Africa

18th September 2017

A project to install a solar-powered electricity grid to power a cooling system for milk production, is among six initiatives benefitting from £600,000 to help some of Africa's poorest communities rise to the challenges of climate change

The funding, which is being awarded to Scottish organisations working with partners in Africa, is designed to support fragile communities in creating new jobs and sources of income, improve food security and the supply of water and energy, and meet the challenges of a changing climate.

It is part of the Climate Justice Fund which will distribute £3m per year over five years to help developing countries, who are less likely to have contributed to climate change, but often suffer the most from the impact, as part of Scotland’s response to the Paris climate agreement.

The projects have been announced ahead of Climate Week (18-22 September), designed to raise awareness of climate change, and to encourage people to take action to reduce carbon emissions.

Other initiatives benefitting include upgrading water and electricity infrastructure in a small farming community in Malawi, turning waste into energy and recyclable plastic in an urban area of central Zambia, and improving the nutrition of schoolchildren in Malawi.

Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said:"Climate change is a huge injustice. The poorest and most vulnerable people across the world are the hardest hit, but they have not caused the problem. Scotland has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by over 40% and is championing climate justice because we take our international obligations very seriously and we know that countries like Scotland have a clear moral duty to make sure our lifestyles do not cause harm to the world’s poorest people.

“I am proud of our innovative Climate Justice Fund which is providing much needed investment to empower many thousands of people in Africa’s most vulnerable communities to find new skills and their own solutions to make them resilient in the face of climate change."