• Foreign Secretary travels to Egypt for COP27 climate change conference
• James Cleverly will today announce a range of investments worth over £100 million
• he will also urge international partners to speed up progress towards delivering on COP26 targets

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is in Sharm el-Sheikh at COP27 today to call for tangible action to deliver on the commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow and support developing economies to tackle the impacts of climate change.

The Foreign Secretary will today announce a range of significant UK investments worth more than £100 million to support developing economies to respond to climate-related disasters and adapt to the impacts of climate change, delivering on targets set at COP26.

The Prime Minister is expected to make a raft of adaptation-related announcements at the conference later today, including that the UK will triple funding for adaptation programmes from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025

Mr Cleverly will also argue that long-term prosperity depends on taking action on climate change and ramping up investment in renewable energy across the world, pointing to the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on the global economy.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The Glasgow Climate Pact gave the world the tools to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees and build a secure and sustainable future.

Now is the time for all countries to step up their action on climate change and deliver the tangible change needed.

The UK will continue to play a leading role in this mission. The funding we have announced will support countries which are facing the devastating impact of climate change, to adapt effectively.

The Foreign Secretary will announce today that the UK will provide £20.7 million in Disaster Risk Financing to support countries which face climate-related disasters, helping them to afford insurance and to access reliable funding, more quickly, after a disaster.

As an example, this funding will allow the World Food Programme to insure food supplies for almost 5 million people across 23 vulnerable countries in cases of climate-related disasters, and will help small island developing states build resilience to extreme weather events.

This support is part of the commitment made in 2021 at the UK G7 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, to spend £120 million on Disaster Risk Financing.

The UK will also announce several new funding allocations to support countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change over the longer-term. The UK will spend £13 million to support vulnerable countries to adapt to climate impacts, and towards efforts to avert, minimise and address loss and damage, including through new funding for the Santiago Network, an organisation set up to support vulnerable countries to access technical assistance.

In Nigeria, the UK will provide a £95 million investment to support the development of climate-resilient agriculture programmes, for example through scaling up heat tolerant crop varieties. The funding will support more than 4 million people, including 2 million women, to increase productivity while reducing emissions.

At a meeting with his Colombian counterparts, the Foreign Secretary will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Colombia to renew their Partnership for Sustainable Growth, deepening bilateral cooperation on climate change and increasing efforts to protect and restore nature and biodiversity in land and marine ecosystems.

Under the UK’s COP Presidency, almost all developed country climate finance providers made new, forward-looking climate finance commitments, with many doubling or even quadrupling support for developing countries to take climate action.

The Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report has reaffirmed that the climate finance goal will be met by developed countries by 2023 latest, with over $500 billion mobilised over the 5-year period 2021 to 2025.

The COP26 Outcomes report (PDF, 37.05MB) details key achievements across the UK Presidency’s 4 overarching goals of mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance and collaboration. Highlights from COP26 and the UK Presidency include:

• keeping 1.5 degrees alive: Over 90% of the world’s GDP, up from 30% when the UK took on the COP presidency, is now covered by net zero commitments with over 153 countries putting forward new 2030 climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions
• increasing funding and launching UN work for dealing with climate impacts: record amounts of adaptation finance have been pledged to the Adaptation Fund and the Least Developed Country Fund under the UK Presidency. In addition at COP26, countries agreed to double 2019 levels of adaptation finance by 2025, the first quantified adaptation finance target
• accelerating unprecedented sectoral transitions with commitments covering the energy, coal, methane, fossil fuel financing, forests and land, and transport sectors, including the first reference to coal in a cover decision agreed by 197 Parties

Additional information

The £13 million Adaptation and Loss and Damage package includes £5 million for the Santiago Network and £4 million for Climate Risk Management including the Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership (REAP).

• Trade Policy Minister Greg Hands heads to Taiwan for first in-person trade talks since pandemic
• During a two-day visit, he will meet President Tsai Ing-wen and co-host the 25th annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks
• The Minister will use talks to tackle barriers to trade and promote UK expertise in areas like offshore wind and hydrogen

Trade Minister Greg Hands will co-host the UK-Taiwan 25th annual Trade Talks in Taipei to boost trade and future-proof our economy through collaboration on green trade and supply chains.

With its advanced, high-tech economy, a GDP of over $770 billion, and strong economic growth – averaging 4% over the last 30 years – Taiwan is an important trading partner for the UK.

Visiting Taiwan in person is a clear signal of the UK’s commitment to boosting UK-Taiwan trade ties. Like the UK, Taiwan is a champion of free and fair trade underpinned by a rules-based global trading system.

The talks with Minister Chern-Chyi Chen will look at tackling barriers to trade in sectors like fintech, food and drink and pharma, aimed at helping more UK firms export and invest in Taiwan. The Minister will also promote UK expertise in offshore wind, hydrogen and electric vehicles in discussions on areas of mutual interest such as renewables and science and innovation.

Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands said:

“I first visited Taiwan 31 years ago in 1991 and it’s been fantastic to see the growth of this dynamic, vibrant economy. I’m thrilled to be the first Trade Minister here post-pandemic and to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of trade talks.

“Boosting trade with this vital partner is part of the UK’s post-Brexit tilt towards the Indo-Pacific and closer collaboration will help us future-proof our economy in the decades to come.”

Our thriving £8bn trade partnership has gone up 14% in the last two years, with UK exports to Taiwan also increasing in that time. The Government’s most recent annual business survey showed the overwhelming majority of UK companies operating in Taiwan are optimistic about its economy and prospects.

During the Trade Talks, Innovate UK will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan, pledging to increase collaboration on technology and innovation. This includes a £5m funding commitment through to 2025 and support to UK businesses via a bespoke Innovation Programme in Taiwan.

As a leading manufacturer of semiconductors – the chips used in electronic devices like iPhones and electric vehicles – Taiwan is a key player in global supply chains. The Minister will use meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen, Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-Hua, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang, Minister Kung Ming-Hsin and Minister John Deng – to promote diversified, resilient supply chains and greater economic cooperation.

Thanks to the UK’s unmatched offshore wind experience and expertise, the UK is already a major partner in Taiwan’s green transition, with more than 38 British companies already having set up offices in Taiwan. The Minister will visit the Formosa 2 offshore wind site – the first international offshore wind project supported by UK Export Finance – which more than 10 British companies are involved in.

Luxfer Gas Cylinders, a British company based in Nottingham (UK), has just signed a contract to supply cylinders for Taiwan’s first pilot hydrogen bus project.

Notes to Editors:

Launched today by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (the MHRA), the seventh annual #MedSafetyWeek is running until 13 November to encourage widespread public engagement and improve patient safety by reporting suspected side effects associated with medicines and adverse incidents involving medical devices.

This year’s campaign is a truly global effort and involves healthcare product regulators from no fewer than 82 countries. It focuses on the vital role played by every healthcare professional, patient, and carer who reports a suspected side effect or adverse incident, which in turn supports the safe use of medicines and medical devices.

All medicines may cause side effects and adverse incidents may occur during the use of medical devices, so it is important to have robust measures in place to continuously monitor their safety after they are taken into clinical use. The purpose of safety monitoring is to gain more information about known side effects and adverse incidents, to find out about new ones, and, most importantly, to make use of medicines and medical devices as safe as possible. Regulators operate systems to detect and analyse those side effects and adverse incidents and prevent harm to future patients.

It is important that everyone makes a report as soon as they suspect side effects and adverse incidents. This ensures that regulatory assessments are genuinely representative and can improve safety for as many people as possible.

The Yellow Card scheme is the MHRA’s single system for collecting suspected side effects of medicines and adverse incidents involving medical devices. These side effects and adverse incidents are then collated and swiftly investigated by the MHRA. Since its establishment in 1964 the scheme has identified numerous safety issues to the benefit of many, thanks to individual reports from medicines users across the nation.

Everyone who reports suspected side effects and adverse incidents to the Yellow Card scheme website or app, is actively participating in identifying emerging national safety issues, so that the MHRA can act when necessary and protect against harm.

Phil Tregunno, MHRA Deputy Director of Patient Safety Monitoring, said:

Every report made by a patient, a healthcare professional, or a carer plays a key role in gaining knowledge about the risks of medicines and medical devices in clinical use and allows rapid, targeted action to be taken to minimise harm and ensure that the benefit-risk remains favourable.

Reporting suspected side effects and adverse incidents to the Yellow Card website is not just about the individual involved, it helps to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices for all patients. By reporting, you are part of the solution – and you may be helping to protect the most vulnerable, at-risk groups from potential harm.

If you, your child, or a patient in your care experiences a suspected side effect or adverse incident relating to a medicine or medical device, it is essential that you report it to us promptly. The faster you report, the likelier it is that we can intervene and prevent others from experiencing untoward, serious, life-altering, and occasionally life-threatening issues.

Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care, Will Quince, said:

Patient safety is at the heart of ensuring the best care, and this government takes it extremely seriously. I’m pleased to support this campaign which will help to further improve the safety of medicines in the UK.

I urge everyone from healthcare professionals to patients to continue to report any adverse effects involving medicines or medical devices through the Yellow Card scheme, so potential incidents can be investigated quickly.

Anyone can report suspected side effects and adverse incidents to the Yellow Card scheme. Reports can be submitted in several ways:

Healthcare professionals and providers can also use local clinical systems to make a report, such as MiDatabank, SystmOne, or VISION.

Reports related specifically to COVID-19, including suspected side effects caused by medicines, vaccines, and medical device and incidents when using coronavirus test kits should be made at coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk

Notes to Editors

• National medicines regulators from 82 countries across the globe and their stakeholders will be taking part in this international campaign led by Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) – the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring. The campaign is supported by members of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA). The #MedSafetyWeek 2022 project team consists of representatives from the following organisations working collaboratively: the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK) as co-lead, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (Ireland), the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) Egypt Chapter, and the Colombian Pharmacovigilance Association.
• The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK. MHRA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.
• Patients using the Yellow Card site should type the relevant medicine, vaccine, or medical device into the search bar and select ‘Start report’ on the right-hand side of the bar. The search bar also offers a drop-down menu to report for medicines, vaccines, medical devices, blood factors and immunoglobulin products, E-cigarettes, and herbal or homeopathic medicines that are not on the MHRA’s list, as well as the option to send additional details of the suspected material(s) if the product type is unknown, so that the final report is accurate.
• For adverse incidents associated with a medical device, healthcare professionals should report through the Yellow Card scheme or their local clinical reporting systems. Healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland and Scotland will need to report adverse incidents involving medical devices through the Northern Ireland Adverse Incident Centre (NIAIC) or National Services Scotland.
• Patients are advised to contact a healthcare professional if they are worried about their health or the safety of any healthcare product they are receiving.