Scottish Catholic Observer

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced the funding of the Climate Challenge Programme Malawi ahead of attending an international conference at the Vatican on Pope Francis’ Laudato si encyclical on care for our common home.

According to the Scottish Government, the programme will work with local people in Southern Malawi to ‘identify the climate challenges they face, with a particular focus on helping the most vulnerable, including women and girls, and promoting human rights.’

Mrs Cunningham said we have a ‘moral responsibility’ to tackle the effects of climate change.

“This £3.2 million fund will work with communities in southern Malawi to come up with ways of adapting to severe storms, floods and droughts, ensuring people have access to basic essentials we take for granted, such as food and water,” she said.

“Scotland has almost halved its greenhouse gas emissions already and our new Climate Change Bill raises the bar for our ambition even further. The bill sets a 90 per cent reduction target for all greenhouse gases by 2050, which will mean achieving 100 per cent reduction of carbon dioxide by the same date. In other words, Scotland will be carbon neutral by mid-century. We’ll put a date to achieve 100 reduction of all greenhouse gases into law as soon as we can do so credibly and responsibly.”

SCIAF director Alistair Dutton (above with Mrs Cunningham at the Vatican) said: “Millions of the poorest people in the world are suffering terribly from climate change, despite them having done least to cause the problem. Increasingly erratic weather makes it incredibly hard for small scale farmers to know when to plant their seeds, while more frequent and severe floods, drought and storms can wipe out their crops overnight, leaving them hungry and forced to leave their homes.

“SCIAF is delighted to have been chosen to manage the Climate Challenge Programme Malawi. We have a strong record of successfully delivering climate justice development programmes in Malawi and the region, and working closely with local partners and communities to ensure our work has the biggest impact.

“This programme will help vulnerable communities in southern Malawi cope with the climate challenges they face by increasing the food, water and clean energy they have. I’ve no doubt this programme will help change the lives of many poor and vulnerable Malawians for the better.”