Climate change is the most important challenge facing us today, tomorrow and for future generations. It affects every country in the world. Despite bearing no historic responsibility for global emissions, Rwanda is already seeing the impact.

The dry regions in the east and south are becoming more arid, and are projected to see more droughts. On the other hand, the wet regions in the north and west are expected to see more floods. As in other parts of the world, these changes can result in damage to infrastructure, loss of lives and property (including crops) and contributing to soil erosion and water pollution.

Dealing with these threats is necessary to maintain Rwanda’s economic growth. Building adaptation and resilience to climate change is, therefore, rightly a priority for Rwanda. And it is clear from Africa Climate Week, which took place this week, that adaptation is a priority for the whole continent.

So what should we do? Of course, it is critical to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, but that’s not all we need to do. The UK recognises the essential focus needed on adaptation. We need to adapt to protect communities and natural habitats.

We need to adapt our behaviours to ensure economic growth and tackling climate change are complementary.  We need to adapt to build defences, early warning systems and resilient infrastructure. To do this we must mobilise both public and private finance to support countries like Rwanda to reduce their vulnerability to climate impacts.

The UK is hosting the UN climate conference, COP26 in Glasgow in November. That will be a major opportunity to make a difference for the future. So the UK is putting the adaptation agenda front and centre as one of four core goals. We will bring expertise, influence and ambition to our partnerships with African nations, prioritising the most vulnerable to help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, build resilience against climate disasters and drive clean growth. We are also happy to provide technical assistance to the Government of Rwanda to support it in developing an Adaptation Communication. This will help tell the world the good work Rwanda is doing to prepare for the inevitable impacts of climate change.

In terms of finance, the UK has committed to double its International Climate Finance support to £11.6bn. That funding will not only help African countries adapt, but also protect nature and biodiversity across the continent. We are encouraging all other donor countries to scale up their funding, and ensure it reaches those who need it most.

Rwanda is a regional leader on climate issues. We can see this in its ambitious revised Nationally Determined Contribution, its economy-wide Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy, and its participation on the UK-led Access to Climate Finance Taskforce. There is more evidence in the successful projects carried out by Rwanda’s Green Fund (FONERWA), to which the UK is proud to have provided £24.5 million of funding.  

The UK is committed to continue to work with Rwanda on tackling climate change. And our collaboration on climate action will not end at COP26. We will continue to work together closely to ensure strong cooperation on climate at the Commonwealth, including at CHOGM in Kigali next year.  It is only by all of us working together that we can make a real difference; that we can build a future that will save lives and protect livelihoods.

The writer is the British High Commissioner to Rwanda.