UK Aid To Help Protect One Billion People From Impact Of Extreme Weather

The Government has announced a new £175 million package which will help make people safer and better prepared for disasters such as typhoons and hurricanes, as well as dealing with the aftermath.

UK co-creating partnership to protect one billion people in the developing world from extreme weather.

A new £175 million package will help make people safer and better prepared for disasters such as typhoons and hurricanes, as well as dealing with their aftermath.

UK and Egypt urgently call for the world to step up preparations for the impact of climate change.

The UK Government is co-creating a global partnership to help protect one billion people in developing countries from the impact of extreme weather events, International Development Secretary Alok Sharma announced today.

The Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership will help ensure the world’s poorest people receive earlier warnings of potential disasters such as typhoon and hurricanes – and are better prepared to deal with their effects.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma, this week announced £85 million in funding to the partnership. He said:

"Climate change is one of the greatest challenges the world is facing, and the world’s poorest will be the worst hit.

"Early warning systems save lives. Helping developing countries to protect against the impact of extreme weather will ensure that the world’s poorest are better able to cope with disasters in the future."

Working with countries across the world and organisations like the UK Met Office and International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent, the Partnership will improve the availability and quality of weather forecasting information available.

Better information and early warning systems will give people more time to adapt and prepare for extreme weather events, making them easier to predict.

The Partnership will also help the governments of developing countries to make detailed action plans for natural disasters, including ensuring survivors are safe and have access to food, water and shelter.

The UK, working with IFRC and Finland, has led on setting up the Partnership.

At the UN in New York, both the UK and Egypt called for urgent global action to help the world adapt to the effects of climate change.

Speaking at the UN, The International Development Secretary also announced up to £90 million of support for the Global Risk Financing Facility, which will help cut the costs of disaster risk insurance. It will help governments and humanitarian agencies to access funding quicker, ensuring a faster and more effective response in emergencies.

The UK is also leading the charge to make infrastructure more resilient to climate change. Working with Jamaica, insurance company Willis Towers Watson, and the World Economic Forum the UK has brought together organisations to ensure that we work to make buildings, roads, bridges and transport networks fit to withstand climate shocks.