Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
Her Majesty's Government, in the light of findings published by CAFOD in its report UK support for energy in developing countries that between 2009 and 2013 43 per cent of UK spending in the energy sector in developing countries was focussed on fossil fuels and 19 per cent on renewable forms of energy, whether they are planning to seek to reverse those proportions; and if so, what action they are taking to achieve that objective.
Answered by Lord Bates
Between 2011 and 2016, UK Aid provided 12 million people with improved access to clean energy and installed more than 400 MW of clean energy capacity.
The percentages cited in the CAFOD report draw on several sources and appear to include a wide range of funding, including funding which is not classified as Official Development Assistance.
The UK government has committed £5.8bn over the April 2016 and March 2021 period for tackling climate change overseas. This commitment will continue to drive support for developing countries to move to low-carbon economies including renewable energy, as well as building their resilience and helping them to manage their natural resources more effectively.
The DFID bilateral programme will not support new coal plants or new investments in existing coal-fired power plants. We will only consider supporting proposals for multilateral development banks to finance coal-fired power plants in the world’s poorest countries where no other economically feasible alternative exists, the investment is part of a credible low emission development strategy and where there is a clear poverty reduction case.