13 September 2019: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a report that finds that climate finance for mitigation makes up 73% of all finance, while climate finance for adaptation activities is 17%. Climate finance is among the issues being discussed at the September 2019 UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit.

The report titled, ‘Climate Finance Provided and Mobilized by Developed Countries in 2013-17,’ finds that climate finance provided and mobilized by developed countries for climate action in developing countries increased to USD 71.2 billion in 2017. This figure includes bilateral public, multilateral public (attributed to developed countries), officially-supported export credits and mobilized private finance. After stalling in 2015, the report shows that public climate finance is increasing again, but cautions that more needs to be done to mobilize private finance. The report recommends continued efforts to scale up public finance and improve the effectiveness of public finance to mobilize private finance.

The share of adaptation in public climate finance in 2016-2017 is significantly higher for LDCs and SIDS than for middle- or high-income economies.

Climate finance for mitigation activities increased from USD 39.6 billion in 2013 to USD 52.4 billion in 2017. Climate finance for adaptation activities increased from USD 9.1 billion in 2013 to USD 13.3 billion in 2017. Climate finance for cross-cutting activities increased from USD 3.5 billion in 2013 to USD 5.5 billion in 2017. The report finds that the share of adaptation in public climate finance in 2016-2017 is “significantly higher” for least developed countries (LDCs), which receive 45% of this funding, and for small island developing States (SIDS), which receive 43%. Developing countries that are classified as middle- or high-income economies receive 16%.

All regions benefited from increasing climate finance in 2017. Asia received USD 24.3 billion, or 34% of climate finance, the most of any region, followed by Africa (26%), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at 20%, the Middle East (8%), Europe (excluding the EU) at 4% and Oceania (1%). However, the report cautions that the regions are uneven in terms of the numbers of countries, population size, levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate risk exposure.

OCED prepared the report in response to a request from developed countries to help them better understand trends in public climate finance. The report uses an accounting framework consistent with the outcome of the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UNFCCC, which agreed on modalities for accounting of financial resources provided by and mobilized through public interventions. The report recommends that individual, bilateral and multilateral providers further improve the transparency of their methods to account for public climate finance, including activity-level disclosure of information. At the same time, the report recognizes that some multilateral development banks (MDBs) have “raised confidentiality restrictions related to private finance data,” and notes that these restrictions will “negatively impact the depth and accuracy of future analyses and reports” by limiting the ability to validate assumptions, amounts and attributions if the restrictions are not resolved.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said the goal to reach USD 100 billion in annual climate finance by 2020 “is still attainable,” but urged accelerating efforts to “provide public climate finance and improve its effectiveness in mobilizing private finance.” He said MDBs are reporting increased climate finance outflows in 2018 and the OECD will analyze these data as soon as they are available. [Publication: Climate Finance Provided and Mobilized by Developed Countries in 2013-17] [Report Webpage] [Key Results] [OECD Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Climate Action Summit]