The UK will commit £200 million over four years to climate-resilient infrastructure in emerging economies across Africa and Asia, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said, linking the pledge to energy security.
The investment will be made through the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). The UK expects it to mobilize an estimated $1 billion a year in private capital. That projected annual amount is separate from the £200 million commitment spread across four years.
Speaking at COP31 in Antalya on Wednesday, Miliband argued that reliance on fossil fuels creates security risks. “There can’t be security while you are dependent on fossil fuels,” he said. He said countries that import fossil fuels are home to 75% of the world’s population, citing the Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as examples of geopolitical disruption.
Miliband said fossil-fuel crises had caused half of Britain’s recessions since the 1970s. He also argued that clean energy’s lower costs over the past two decades had made electrification a viable option. The speech paired the overseas infrastructure commitment with UK goals for power, transport and home heating.
He cited a target for clean power by 2030, plans to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by that year, and the Warm Homes Plan’s aim to electrify heating. Miliband also identified climate-related risks to food and infrastructure, along with population displacement, as security concerns.
He said resilience would be part of the UK’s G20 chairmanship in 2027. In earlier coverage of COP31’s electrification goal and fossil-fuel debate, EconoTimes cited NPR reporting that Saudi Arabia and Russia had repeatedly opposed references to fossil fuels in summit texts.
