UK to cut climate aid to developing countries by 14% to £2bn a year in ‘refocus’

Move will put national security and lives overseas at risk, critics say, as overall UK aid budget is slashed to 0.3% of gross national income

Climate aid to developing countries from the UK will be cut by about 14% to roughly £2bn a year under government plans, in a move critics said would put national security and lives overseas at risk.

The move follows bitter rows with the Treasury, which wanted deeper cuts owing to pressure on spending resulting from the war in Iran.

Overall, the UK’s aid budget was slashed to 0.3% of gross national income, with programmes on health, education and humanitarian assistance all facing the axe.

Climate spending will be “around” £6bn over three years, the government said before the announcement on Thursday. But experts told the Guardian this was likely to mean less than £6bn, rather than more. Under the previous five-year arrangement, the UK provided £11.6bn over five years, or about £2.3bn a year.