Committees

The UK’s International Climate Finance

Inquiry

UK ICF was launched in 2011 as Official Development Assistance (ODA). It plays a crucial role in fulfilling the UK’s obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement and advancing the Government’s wider ambition to establish the UK as a global leader in international climate action. In 2019, the previous Government announced its commitment to spend £11.6 billion in ICF in the five years to 2025-26. The UK’s 2023 ICF strategy outlined four priority areas for the funding: clean energy; nature for climate and people; adaptation and resilience; and sustainable cities, infrastructure and transport. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and three other Government departments – the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – have responsibility for funding and delivering ICF.

While the UK remains committed to achieving its target by March 2026, major cuts to ODA by successive governments and competing demands on UK aid have exacerbated pressures. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact's (ICAI’s) 2024 rapid review of the UK’s current ICF portfolio highlighted that reaching the target is now dependent on changes to accounting methodology to dilute the ICF target. Specifically, it found that by reclassifying existing ODA as ICF, the UK has “moved the goalpost”, allowing more aid spending to be counted as ICF while not increasing the amounts which reach countries in need. Moreover, as at October 2025, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), rated the UK’s ICF as “highly insufficient”. CAT has highlighted that the UK needs to “substantially increase” ICF to ensure that it is contributing an equitable share to global climate mitigation efforts.

As the UK prepares to renew its commitment for the 2026-2030 ICF period, the Government faces challenges to ICF delivery in the context of shifting international priorities, funding restraints and changes in the humanitarian and development sector. This inquiry will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current ICF portfolio in driving systemic change and crucially, how it can maximise value for money and impact by learning lessons and leveraging alternative routes to fulfil its future commitments despite reduced resources.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:00pm on 19 January 2026.

Upcoming events

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Past events

Tuesday 30 June 2026
1:05pm Public
The UK’s International Climate Finance - Oral evidence 30 June 2026
1:05pm
  • The Rt Hon. the Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Minister for International Development and Africa at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
  • Matt Toombs (Director, International Climate Finance and Strategy at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
  • Ros Eales (Director of the Energy and Climate Directorate at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
2:35pm
  • Anouschka Rajah (Research and Analysis Manager at More in Common)
  • Ian Mitchell (Co-Director, Europe and Senior Fellow at Centre for Global Development)
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 2 June 2026
2:00pm Public
The UK’s International Climate Finance - Oral evidence 2 June 2026
2:00pm
  • Ms. Deborah Sanchez (Indigenous Leader and Director of Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative at Rights and Resources Initiative)
  • Silvia Carolina Herrera Hernandez (Coffee Producer and Secretary of the Board of Directors at CLAC Comercio Justo)
3:00pm
  • Professor Nicola Ranger (Executive Director of Earth Capital Nexus and Professor in Practice at Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science)
  • Dharshan Wignarajah (Director at Climate Policy Initiative)
  • Amar Inamdar (Managing Director at KawiSafi Ventures)
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 3 March 2026
2:00pm Public
The UK’s International Climate Finance - Oral evidence 3 March 2026
2:00pm
  • Elizabeth Wathuti (Founder and Executive Director at Green Generation Initiative)
  • Zahid Shashoto (Head of Programme at Uttaran)
  • Dishon Lionel Murage (Technical Advisor at Oceans Alive Foundation)
3:00pm
  • Professor Avinash Persaud (Special Advisor on Climate Change at Inter-American Development Bank)
  • Ms May Thazin Aung (Senior researcher at International Institute for Environmental Development)
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.

  • Email: indcom@parliament.uk
  • Address: International Development Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA