UK accused of relying on ‘questionable accounting’ to meet key climate finance target

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🗞️ Driving the news: The UK is facing accusations of using questionable accounting to meet its £11.6 billion international climate finance target for 2021–2026
• An analysis by Carbon Brief, based on freedom of information requests, estimates that around £2.1 billion counted towards the target was not new spending
• Without these accounting changes, the UK would have fallen nearly £1 billion short, the analysis suggests
• The government disputes that it will miss its commitment, saying it has met and exceeded the target

🔭 The context: The analysis identifies three main approaches: counting a share of core funding for multilateral development banks, classifying 30% of humanitarian aid to countries deemed highly climate-vulnerable as climate finance, and including more government-backed private-sector investment
• The criteria were broadened in 2023 under the previous Conservative government and retained by Labour amid wider overseas aid cuts

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: International climate finance helps vulnerable countries prepare for climate impacts and pursue climate action
• Disputes over whether reported funding represents additional spending or relabelled existing aid could undermine trust in wealthy countries’ climate commitments and complicate efforts to mobilise resources for adaptation and resilience

⏭️ What’s next: Climate-vulnerable countries are expected to press wealthy nations for more funding at COP31
• Climate Action Network UK is calling for increased climate finance, a reversal of the 2023 accounting changes and a pathway to restore overseas aid to 0.7% of gross national income
• The government maintains that it has fulfilled its climate finance commitment.

💬 One quote: “If questionable accounting has been used to get around a £1bn shortfall on our climate finance spend between 2021-22 and 2025-26, this only underlines my concerns that the government has been cutting corners to maintain headline climate-spending commitments, rather than working to deliver genuine climate and nature outcomes.” — Sarah Champion, chair of Parliament’s International Development Committee

📈 One stat: £2.1 billion: the estimated amount of funding counted towards the UK’s climate finance target that Carbon Brief says did not come from new spending.

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