Scientists will receive up to STG1 billion ($A1.8 billion) for new technology to tackle the climate crisis in developing countries, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to announce at the UN Climate conference in New York.
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Johnson will commit the clean energy fund, named in honour of British physicist and suffragette Hertha Ayrton, in a speech on Monday.
Putting an emphasis on technology's potential to answer the climate emergency, he will also announce a further STG220 million from the overseas aid budget to save endangered species from extinction.
But environmental groups warned changes to economic policies are essential to thwart environmental disaster, rather than relying solely on technology.
Johnson will make the commitments at the UN General Assembly where he will hold joint Brexit talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He will also meet European Council president Donald Tusk as he tries to get a new deal ahead of the current October 31 Brexit deadline.
A bilateral meeting is also scheduled with US President Donald Trump.
The Ayrton fund aims to encourage scientists to develop and test cutting-edge technology to help reduce emissions in developing countries and to help them meet their carbon targets.
It is named after the scientist who helped further women's rights and make major scientific advancements at the turn of the 20th century, including in electricity.
"I have always been deeply optimistic about the potential of technology to make the world a better place," Johnson said ahead of the announcement.
"If we get this right, future generations will look back on climate change as a problem that we solved by determined global action and the prowess of technology."
The fund aims to cut emissions by means including providing affordable access to electricity to some of the one billion people who are still off the grid, and designing low-emission vehicles.
The new international biodiversity fund will aim to halt the loss of species, with the world's animal populations estimated as having declined by nearly two thirds in half a century.
Johnson hopes the money will save the black rhino, African elephant, snow leopard and Sumatran tiger from extinction.
"We cannot just sit back and watch as priceless endangered species are wiped off the face of the earth by our own carelessness and criminality," he said.
WWF UK welcomed the "important acknowledgement" of the scale of the crisis but warned that funding new technologies alone is not enough to solve the "planetary emergency".
"Investment in technology is welcome but the Government must back this up with trade policies that actively combat climate change and reduce deforestation," executive science and conservation director Mike Barrett said.
Mr Johnson will announce the biodiversity fund at a WWF event.
Australian Associated Press
