Scotland is investing £12 million in the next four years to help reduce the impact of climate change on the world’s poorest communities.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement at COP21 in Paris.

It will double the Scottish Government’s ‘Climate Justice Fund’ and allow more support to projects in countries such as Malawi and Zambia.

It aims to lessen the impacts of climate change on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

During the last five years the fund has invested £6 million in 11 projects in four sub-Saharan African countries.

These include helping 30,000 people in Malawi have access to safe drinking water and training more than 100 committees in natural resources rights and management.

The UK Government recently pledged to support the energy industry in Nigeria.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The people who have done least to cause climate change are the people who are being hit hardest. The scale of the injustice is massive.

“Now, the first and most important priority in tackling this injustice has to be to address climate change itself.

“That’s why Scotland backs the case for an ambitious agreement at the Paris summit – one which is capable of limiting temperature increases to below 2°C.”

The country’s Benefit Register recently found Scottish communities make £10 million a year through renewable energy projects. However, Ms Sturgeon warned the recent attacks on support for renewable energy will make increasing these benefits further more difficult.