NICOLA Sturgeon will today announce millions of pounds in extra funding to help people in third world countries cope with the impact of climate change.
The First Minister, who is attending the UN global climate change summit in Paris, said doubling the Scottish Government's Climate Justice Fund would help tackle a "massive injustice" of developing countries being hardest hit by rising temperatures despite doing little to cause the increases.
It means £12 million will be spent through the fund, which was established in 2012, over the next four years. So far, projects paid for with taxpayers' cash include developing new water management techniques for the poor in Malawi and helping farmers cope with extreme droughts and floods in Zambia.
The SNP leader, who last week came under fire for consistently failing to hit ambitious Scottish Government targets on emissions, said: "We know that the most vulnerable are worst affected by climate change: the very young, the very old, the ill, and the very poor. Women are suffering disproportionately, since they are often the main providers of food, fuel and water.
"So, the people who have done least to cause climate change, and are least equipped to cope with its consequences, are the people who are being hit hardest. The scale of the injustice is massive.
"In 2012 we became the first national government in the world to establish a climate justice fund and we have had some fantastic results. That's why I can announce today that we are doubling our funding for the Climate Justice Fund to £12 million over the next four years."
A series of world leaders are gathering in the French capital in the hope of securing a long-term deal to reduce global carbon emissions. Ms Sturgeon is representing Scotland at the summit.
Today, she is also expected to meet with former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, and Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.
The Scottish Government insists it on track to meet the long-term target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent, compared with 1990 levels, by the end of the decade. However, it has failed to meet its interim targets for the past four years.
Ms Sturgeon said she was backing an "ambitious agreement" in Paris, which is capable of limiting temperature increases to below two degrees Celsius.
Tom Ballantine, of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said: "Tackling climate change is an issue of justice. Like other wealthy nations, Scotland benefited greatly from the era of fossil fuels, and it means we owe a climate debt to the world's poorest people, who are the most affected by climate change.
"We're very pleased by the Scottish Government's ongoing commitment to the Climate Justice Fund. We hope that other governments in Paris will now follow Scotland's example, and provide urgently needed support to people who are already struggling against the effects of climate change."
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