By Basant El-Faramawy
The UK has met its £11.6 billion international climate finance pledge for 2021-2026 only by reclassifying existing aid and development spending as new climate funding, according to an exclusive analysis by Carbon Brief shared with The Independent.
Analysis reveals relabelled funds
Around £2.1 billion of the total counted toward the target did not come from new spending. Without this reclassification, the UK would have fallen nearly £1 billion short of its commitment under the Paris Agreement. The findings are based on numerous freedom of information requests.
Changes to accounting criteria
In 2023, the previous Conservative government loosened the definition of "climate" spending to maintain the headline target while cutting aid. The current Labour government has kept this approach. Three main changes were identified: counting a share of core funding for multilateral development banks such as the World Bank; automatically counting 30 per cent of humanitarian aid to climate-vulnerable countries including Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and counting more UK-backed private sector investments from British International Investments.
Political reactions
Sarah Champion, Labour MP and chair of the International Development Committee, said the findings underline concerns that the government has been "cutting corners" to maintain spending commitments rather than delivering genuine climate outcomes. A separate committee report earlier reached a similar conclusion.
Government response
A UK government spokesperson rejected the criticism, stating it would be incorrect to say the target will be missed. The spokesperson said the UK is proud to have hit and exceeded the target and will continue to prioritise climate finance in its aid budget.
Civil society call for change
Catherine Pettengell, executive director of Climate Action Network UK, urged the government to reverse the 2023 accounting changes, increase international climate finance, and set a pathway to restore overseas aid to 0.7 per cent of gross national income ahead of the Cop31 climate conference.
