Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Mauritius are extremely vulnerable to climate change, one of the biggest challenges of our generation. At COP26 in 2021, the UK announced £40 million (MUR 2.2 billion) in grants for the ‘Small Island Developing State Capacity and Resilience’ (SIDAR) programme, to support capacity building to access funding and technical solutions. The UK is delivering this support in Mauritius including through a focus on cutting carbon emissions and building resilience to climate change. We are therefore proud to announce that Great Britain will provide MUR 23 million to help build public and private sector capacity, create jobs, and improve access to climate finance through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mauritius.

This funding will target two areas:

• To support Mauritius’ transition to a low carbon economy, the UK will provide MUR 11.9 million for a training and seed-funding programme implemented by to help boost job creation in the renewable energy sector. This initiative will help women and young people develop skills and knowledge in the installation of solar photovoltaic systems. Beyond the increased climate resilience this brings, it will help support communities access innovative markets, networks and job opportunities.

• The UK will also provide MUR 11.4 million to help the Government of Mauritius develop a long-term strategy for climate financing and investment in low carbon development projects.

  H.E. Charlotte Pierre, British High Commissioner to Mauritius, said: ‘We are just over a month away from COP 28. Small Developing Island States (SIDS) like Mauritius suffer some of the most devastating effects of climate change. The UK Government recognises this fact and will not shy away from helping our SIDS partners respond. I am proud to say that the UK has the opportunity to work with key multilateral partners like the UNDP to support Mauritius on critical climate issues. UK funding worth MUR 23 billion will help boost capabilities at grassroots-level and access more international resources to deliver Mauritius’ ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions and climate priorities. Together, we can drive forward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, ensuring a fair climate transition for everyone’.

  Ms Amanda Serumaga, UNDP Mauritius and Seychelles Resident Representative said: ‘The Republic of Mauritius has aligned itself with international norms when it signed and ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and the Paris Agreement in 2016. This project will support Mauritius to overcome the challenges resulting from the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and the enhanced transparency framework. It will strengthen the capacities of the institutions to undertake national communications and associated inventories noting that to date, Mauritius relies on a system of temporary and ad-hoc institutional arrangements.’ She also highlighted that ‘UNDP is one of the major entities supporting countries access and effectively use climate finance and (...) will continue to work together with both the governmental and non-governmental organisations to enable the country to meet its obligations under the various conventions.’