The government will spend £400m in the next three years subsidising technologies to combat climate change, and £2.4bn on flood defences to cope with its effects.

About a third of the government’s £1.2bn Environmental Transformation Fund, fleshed out yesterday, will be spent on developing low-carbon energy in the UK. Most of the remaining £800m will go to poor countries through the World Bank, to help them gain invest in clean energy and protect their environment.