Author: Fiona Harvey Environment editor

UK programmes to protect nature and the climate in developing countries are suffering swingeing budget cuts despite ministers’ promises, the Guardian has learned.The cuts belie the government’s claims to be fulfilling international obligations on climate finance and are veiled behind a system that experts have criticised as opaque.Several programmes intended to protect nature in vital ecosystems in Africa and Asia have been in effect axed. Other schemes have been reduced in scope, undermining their impact.One initiative, the £500m Blue Planet Fund – set up after Sir David Attenborough’s revelations of the plight of the marine environment in his Blue Planet…

Less than a year ago, Keir Starmer stood in front of an audience of senior officials and business leaders from 60 countries in London to declare climate action was “in the DNA of my government”.Vowing to go “all out” for net zero and to “accelerate” while others were slowing down, the Lancaster House speech was his strongest intervention yet on the issue. “We’re paying the price for our overexposure to the rollercoaster of international fossil fuel markets,” he said. “Homegrown clean energy is the only way to take back control of our energy system.”For many who know Starmer, that speech…