British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Wednesday announced a £200 million investment over four years to support climate-resilient infrastructure in emerging economies across Africa and Asia. He made the announcement in a speech at the Clean Energy Transition & Electrification Summit, held during the COP31 climate conference in Antalya.
The money will go through the Private Infrastructure Development Group, known as PIDG. Miliband said it will help mobilize an estimated $1 billion per year in private capital. The speech did not say which UK department will provide the funds or which projects will receive them.
Miliband argued that countries cannot be secure while they depend on fossil fuels. He pointed to the Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as examples of conflicts that leave countries exposed to price swings they do not control. He said half of Britain’s recessions since the 1970s were caused by fossil-fuel crises.
He said even the United States, the world’s largest fossil-fuel producer, is not immune. According to Miliband, Vice President Vance has said voters have felt real effects from the Iran war. Miliband also said fossil-fuel importers make up 75% of the world’s population.
Miliband said electrification powered by clean energy is now an alternative to fossil fuels. He credited the fall in clean-energy prices over the last two decades, and he thanked the Turkish Presidency of COP31 for placing the idea at the center of the conference. He said the UK is working toward clean power by 2030, a phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and a Warm Homes Plan to electrify heating.
Miliband also said climate change should be treated as a national security issue by foreign ministers and prime ministers. He listed food security, infrastructure security and population displacement as areas with national security implications. He said resilience will be part of the UK’s chairmanship of the G20, the group of major economies, next year.
The speech did not say when the £200 million will begin to be paid out. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office published the transcript on Nov. 11, 2026.