Miliband pledges £200m to mobilise private clean infrastructure finance

The Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, used a speech at the Clean Energy Transition & Electrification Summit at COP31 in Antalya on 11 November 2026 to argue that reliance on fossil fuels cannot deliver security, and to announce new UK funding.

The UK will invest £200 million over the next four years through the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). According to the speech, the money is expected to help mobilise an estimated $1 billion a year in private capital for climate-resilient infrastructure in emerging economies across Africa and Asia.

Mr Miliband said it was in the UK's self-interest for all countries to invest in electrification.

Mr Miliband pointed to the Iran war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine as evidence that countries dependent on fossil fuels are exposed to geopolitical shocks they cannot control. He said half of Britain's recessions since the 1970s have been caused by fossil-fuel crises. He added that importers, which he said represent 75% of the world's population, are even more exposed than major producers such as the United States.

He said that, unlike in the past, an alternative now exists in clean-energy electrification, made possible by the fall in clean energy costs over the last two decades.

Mr Miliband restated the government's existing domestic aims:

The Foreign Secretary described climate breakdown as a national security issue, citing food security, infrastructure security and population displacement. He said resilience will be part of the UK's chairmanship of the G20 next year.