Scotland’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse has stressed the importance of 'climate justice' to the international community.

Mr Wheelhouse is highlighting the work of the Scottish government to international counterparts at UN Climate talks (UNFCCC) in Warsaw this week.

The annual talks bring together Ministers and stakeholders from nearly 200 countries and act as a platform for sharing global best practice on climate change.

The initial £3m round of Scotland’s Climate Justice funding has been channelled into five water-related climate adaptation projects in Zambia and Malawi.

Alex Salmond announed last month that the Climate Justice Fund was being doubled to £6m.

The second round of funding will be available from 2014 and will:

• support projects in related areas of water, food and energy in the same partner countries identified in the first round
• address the needs of climate vulnerable people
• empower the poor and vulnerable in decisions and access to resources
• take a rights-based approach to programmes and services to promote human rights and the strengthening of civil society
• involve business
• build trust between communities in developed and developing countries

Minister Wheelhouse said: "The devastating events experienced in the Philippines recently highlight why Climate Justice should be a global priority, adding to evidence of climate change impacts in vulnerable regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.


"We strongly recognise the voices of those who are in the frontline of the impacts of climate change. For many of the people in communities in developing countries in particular, climate change already threatens basic human rights: to water, food, shelter, education, employment and to life itself.

"Scotland has already set out the most ambitious global targets to cut emissions and as a nation, we’ve dramatically increased our renewable electricity production. We are also pioneering a specific climate justice approach, which puts people and human rights at the heart of Scotland’s action on climate change and in supporting fair and sustainable global development."

(IT/CD)