UK Pledges £113 million to Renewable Energy Projects in Africa

Upon his arrival in Doha for the UN climate talks the UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey said that, "climate change is a global threat and with every passing year, the nature and the extent of that threat grows clearer. Climate finance is fundamental to building resilience and capacity for countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change."

With this in mind the UK, as part of a package to help developing countries tackle climate change, has pledged £113 million to be invested in renewable energy projects in Africa.

The money will be used to finance two programmes to help stimulate private sector investment in low carbon energy, with one of the projects, the Green Africa Power project, receiving £98 million on its own. £15 million will go to a programme to reduce emissions from cattle farming, £1.5 million will be used to help the developing countries create their own strategies to reduce carbon emissions, and £14 million will go to the 'Get Fit' project in Uganda which will see the development of several small-scale renewable energy projects.

Related Articles: BP to Use Desalinated Water to Enhance Oil Extraction Rates

Davey stated that, "our focus will be on results that make a difference on the ground and we are working with a variety of partners, including developing countries, other donors organisations and the private sector to deliver this."

The UN hopes to raise $100 billion each year for investing in developing countries by as soon as 2020.

By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com