Fiona Harvey’s article on cuts to climate aid programmes (UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries, 2 March) exposes a troubling reversal at a critical moment. Schemes to protect nature and climate resilience across Africa and Asia are being substantially reduced or effectively axed. These cuts sit within a wider contraction of climate finance, and for those of us who work with emerging environmental leaders in the global south, these developments resonate deeply.
Conservation, adaptation and community‑based projects already operate with minimal resources. Cuts affecting hundreds of millions of pounds earmarked for vital biodiversity and climate‑protection programmes will only undermine projects that communities rely on.
Climate solutions such as restoring mangroves, safeguarding freshwater systems and developing climate‑resilient farming methods are among the most cost‑effective and locally grounded interventions available. Without stable investment, this work becomes harder and in some cases impossible. At a time of escalating climate impacts, withdrawing support sends a harmful signal about whose futures are allowed to be protected.
If the UK is serious about climate leadership, it must urgently reverse course and commit to protecting the communities and ecosystems that stand to lose the most.
Millie Edwards
Director, the Iris Project
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