The accounting framework used in this report is consistent with the one used for previous OECD reports. The framework was initially developed in 2015 to estimate climate finance provided and mobilised by developed countries to developing countries in 2013-14 (OECD, 2015[2]). The framework was used subsequently in the 2019 report, which extended the estimated period to 2017 (OECD, 2019[1]). It is also consistent with the outcome of the UNFCCC COP24 as regards the modalities for the accounting of financial resources provided and mobilised through public interventions (UNFCCC, 2019[3]). For a full breakdown of the framework, please refer to (OECD, 2019[1]).
This framework operates with the concepts of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries. The latter are defined, for the purpose of this report and previous reports, by combining the UNFCCC non-Annex I list of countries and the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients (OECD, 2015[2]; OECD, 2019[19]). Annex 3 of this report defines both country groupings in detail and lists individual countries and territories pertaining to these categories.
The figures of total climate finance provided and mobilised by developed countries for climate action in developing countries are based on four distinct components (Figure A A.1.):
Bilateral public climate finance, which consists of public climate finance commitments (beyond export credits) by developed countries for developing countries. Such commitments are made either directly, or through intermediaries (NGOs and civil society, networks, partnerships, universities and research institutes, private for-profit institutions and other bilateral channels) (flow A.1), or as earmarked (non-core) funding through multilateral channels (flow A.2). The data are sourced from developed countries’ Biennial Reports (BRs) to the UNFCCC.
Multilateral public climate finance provided to developing countries that is attributable to developed countries. This component includes climate finance outflows from multilateral development banks (MDBs) and multilateral climate funds (flow B.2) to developing countries, as well as climate-specific contributions by developed countries to multilateral bodies for which climate outflow data are unavailable (flow B.1). Climate finance outflows from MDBs are sourced from activity‑level multilateral outflows recorded in the OECD DAC statistics on development finance. Climate-specific contributions by developed countries to multilateral bodies are sourced from developed countries’ BRs to the UNFCCC.
Officially supported climate-related export credits, which consist of trade-related financial support extended by developed countries’ export credit agencies for climate-related projects in developing countries (flow C). These data are primarily sourced from activity-level export credit transactions recorded in the OECD Export Credit Group database.
Private climate finance mobilised attributable to developed countries consists of finance from private sources mobilised by bilateral and multilateral public finance interventions in support of climate activities in developing countries (flow D). These data are primarily sourced from the OECD DAC statistics on development finance, which collects this information at the activity-level.
The OECD DAC and OECD ECG databases are dynamic, which implies that they can accommodate data modifications and updates if needed and requested by the providers. Therefore, the data underpinning this report’s figures may have been subject to revisions since their first publication. Nevertheless, this report does not revise figures for the years 2013-17 and does not consider any potential revisions to 2013-2017 data implemented in the databases.
