Guidance

UK International Climate Finance results

International Climate Finance (ICF) results and indicator methodologies.

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 We do not publish results for each individual year within that period because we may receive updated values from programmes for previous years, as well as for the current year.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

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 technical assistance Key Performance Indicator methodologies

Supplementary notes

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 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 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.

Updates to this page

Published 26 September 2023
Last updated 16 October 2024 + show all updates
  1. Link to International Climate Finance results 2024 added.

  2. A link to the 2023 UK International Climate Finance results has been added. 28 September 2023.

  3. First published.

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