Background

International Climate Finance (ICF) is UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding to support developing countries to reduce poverty and respond to the causes and impacts of climate change. Four UK Government Departments jointly deliver ICF:

• Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
• Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)

ICF investments help developing countries to:

• adapt and build resilience to the current and future effects of climate change
• pursue low-carbon economic growth and development
• protect, restore and sustainably manage nature
• accelerate the clean energy transition

The UK has committed to spending £11.6 billion of ICF between financial years 2021 to 2022 and 2025 to 2026 in the third phase of ICF, known as ‘ICF 3’. Previously, £9.8 billion was spent between 2011 to 2012 and 2020 to 2021.

ICF results is an annual publication that reports what ICF investments have achieved against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We collect and aggregate results each year from ICF programmes.

ICF results are not official or national statistics. This is because of the range of data sources we use and their variable quality, which are affected by the challenging environments where we work.

We and our partners strive to apply data quality best practices, and we voluntarily follow the Code of Practice for Statistics when producing ICF results. Our Statement of voluntary compliance with the code of practice for statistics (ODT, 12.8 KB) demonstrates the steps we have taken to improve the trustworthiness, quality and value of ICF results.

In most cases we report ICF results cumulatively for the whole ICF period, from 2011 to the present year, or for some indicators, from the year they started. We do not publish results for each individual year within that period because we may receive updated values from programmes for previous years, as well as for the current year.

Updates to data are common and expected for a number of reasons, such as data lags between programmes starting and delivering results or getting confirmation of results data from partners.

Previous results

• 2024 UK International Climate Finance results

• 2023 UK climate finance results

• 2022 UK climate finance results

• 2021 UK climate finance results

• 2020 UK climate finance results (PDF, 330 KB)

• 2019 UK climate finance results (PDF, 647 KB)

• 2018 UK climate finance results (PDF, 513 KB)

• 2017 UK climate finance results (PDF, 545 KB)

• 2016 UK climate finance results (PDF, 580 KB)

• 2016 UK climate finance results: data sources and methods (PDF, 504 KB)

Methodology notes

ICF KPI methodology notes guide programme teams, delivery partners and analysts in designing and managing programme monitoring for ICF results. They provide some flexibility to accommodate the range of ICF programmes, while introducing standard definitions and approaches.

ICF Key Performance Indicator (KPI) methodologies

• ICF KPI 1 methodology note: people supported to better adapt to the effects of climate change (PDF, 530 KB)
• ICF KPI 2 methodology note: people and social institutions with improved access to clean energy (PDF, 593 KB)
• ICF KPI 4 methodology note: people whose resilience has been improved (PDF, 875 KB)
• ICF KPI 6 methodology note: tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reduced or avoided (PDF, 991 KB)
• ICF KPI 7 methodology note: installed capacity of clean energy (PDF, 604 KB)
• ICF KPI 8 methodology note: ecosystem loss avoided (PDF, 1.9 MB)
• ICF KPI 10 methodology note: value of ecosystem services generated or protected (PDF, 1 MB)
• ICF KPI 11 methodology note: public finance mobilised for climate change purposes (PDF, 524 KB)
• ICF KPI 12 methodology note: private finance mobilised for climate change purposes (PDF, 1.6 MB)
• ICF KPI 15 methodology note: extent to which ICF intervention is likely to lead to transformational change (PDF, 1.2 MB)
• ICF KPI 17 methodology note: area under sustainable management practices (PDF, 833 KB)

ICF technical assistance Key Performance Indicator methodologies

• ICF technical assistance KPI 1 methodology note: countries supported by ICF technical assistance (PDF, 263 KB)
• ICF technical assistance KPI 2 methodology note: individuals and organisations supported by ICF technical assistance (PDF, 265 KB)
• ICF technical assistance KPI 3 methodology note: climate policies informed by ICF technical assistance (PDF, 277 KB)
• ICF technical assistance KPI 5 methodology note: emissions reductions or avoided/supported by ICF technical assistance (PDF, 291 KB)

Supplementary notes

• Supplementary guidance to ICF results methodology notes: additionality and attribution (PDF, 839 KB)

Evaluation reports

Learning is essential to achieve maximum impact and value-for-money of ICF. Under a cross-departmental ICF monitoring, evaluation and learning programme, we delivered three independent evaluations to address evidence gaps related to the ICF portfolio .

Portfolio evaluation 1: Integration of International Climate Finance (ICF)

This portfolio evaluation looked at how integrating climate finance within development programmes achieved climate change outcomes.

• Portfolio evaluation 1: Integration of ICF, final report (PDF, 1.6 MB)

• Management response to portfolio evaluation 1 final report (PDF, 147 KB

Portfolio evaluation 2: Mobilising private finance through demonstration effects

This portfolio evaluation examined how private investors were influenced by evidence from ICF-supported projects to invest in low-carbon, climate-resilient projects.

• Portfolio evaluation 2: Mobilising private finance through demonstration effects, final report (PDF, 937 KB)

• Management response to portfolio evaluation 2 final report (ODT, 27 KB)

Portfolio evaluation 3: Support for policy change

This portfolio evaluation looked at how ICF supported changes to global, national, sub-national policies to contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change.

• Portfolio evaluation 3: Support for policy change, main report (PDF, 1.2 MB)

• Management response to Portfolio evaluation 3 main report (ODT, 24 KB)