52 Accepted in Part

Despite its omnipresence in climate negotiations, there is no officially agreed definition of climate finance.110...

Conclusion
Despite its omnipresence in climate negotiations, there is no officially agreed definition of climate finance.110 In November 2020, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that the level of climate finance was US$78.9 billion in 2018.111 Yet, the OECD itself acknowledged that official reporting by higher income countries contains “significant inconsistencies in terms of methodologies, categorisations and definitions adopted across countries”.112
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, acknowledging the need for transparency and predictability in climate finance. They outline initiatives like the DAC declaration to improve statistical reporting and data compatibility by the end of 2022, and the UNFCCC's Enhanced Transparency Framework for reporting by December 2024, to bring greater clarity to climate finance flows.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government Accepted in Part
Partially agree The UK recognises that developing countries need transparency and predictability about what our own and other donors’ commitments mean for the $100bn goal and what aggregate levels of climate finance will be delivered in the coming years. That is why the UK published a list of climate finance donors’ commitments in advance of COP26 and why the COP President asked Ministers from Germany and Canada to produce a Delivery Plan for how, together, developed countries will deliver the $100bn commitment. This was published on 25 October. At COP26 it was agreed that the UNFCCC’s Standing Committee on Finance would also report in 2022 on progress towards the $100bn, allowing for further clarity and transparency on climate finance flows. The UK is committed to a robust approach for reporting its own climate finance and will continue to encourage other donors to do so within their pledges made on future climate finance. We will support initiatives led by international organisations such as the OECD and UNFCCC in better defining climate finance. For example, the UK played a leading role in securing commitments on transparency as part of the OECD-DAC declaration in October 2021 on a new approach to align development co-operation with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This declaration states that by the end of 2022 DAC members will be more transparent in how we track our development and climate finance, review statistical reporting, enhance compatibility of data, harmonise CRS reporting, and develop a method for CRS to measure donor efforts on sustainable energy transition. The UK includes country level information, where this is available, in its UNFCCC reporting, and in its ODA data provided to the OECD. The UK government’s Development Tracker website now has an ICF tag which will identify programmes containing climate finance, provide country level information if available, as well as more detailed programme documentation. The Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), finalised at COP26, is a reporting framework through which Parties to the Paris Agreement will share data on financial, technology and capacity-building support, with first transparency reports due by 31 December 2024 at the latest.
Addressee Bodies
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.8 yrs
Report published 26 Oct 2021