UK aid and climate change
The briefing describes the potential affects of climate change on development goals, UK aid spending on the climate and key UK projects and their effectiveness.

This is a short House of Commons briefing paper on the 2019 international climate change conference (COP25) held in Madrid, Spain.
Chile Madrid climate change conference: COP25 (121 KB , PDF)
The UN Climate Change Conference 2019 (COP25) took place in Madrid, Spain from 2 to 15 December (having been extended for 2 days from 13 December). It was originally scheduled to take place in Santiago, Chile but on 1 November 2019, the UNFCCC accepted a proposal from the Government of Chile to change the venue due to the civil unrest in Chile in October/November 2019. It was consequently rebranded as “Chile Madrid COP25”.
The conference took place under the Presidency of the Government of Chile. The President-Delegate for the conference was Ms Carolina Schmidt Zaldivar, Minister of Environment of Chile. There were around 27,000 delegates in attendance, including representatives from the UK Cabinet Office.
Building on the outcomes of COP24 in Poland, the key aim of COP25 was to finalise the “rulebook” of the Paris Agreement (agreed at COP21) by agreeing rules for carbon markets and other forms of international cooperation. However, the talks did not reach consensus or achieve many of the outcomes that were hoped for, instead pushing decisions into 2020’s COP26 in the UK. UN secretary general António Guterres said he was “disappointed” with the results of COP25, tweeting that:
The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crises.
But we must not give up, and I will not give up.
Chile Madrid climate change conference: COP25 (121 KB , PDF)
The briefing describes the potential affects of climate change on development goals, UK aid spending on the climate and key UK projects and their effectiveness.
A debate has been scheduled in the Commons Chamber for Thursday 23 March on tackling the energy trilemma. The subject for the debate has been chosen by the Backbench Business Committee, and the debate will be opened by Dame Andrea Leadsom MP.
A Westminster Hall debate has been scheduled for 4.30pm on Wednesday 8 February on climate change and biodiversity. The debate will be opened by Sally-Ann Hart MP.