Total bilateral adaptation-related aid commitments
by members of the OECD’s Development Assistance
Committee (DAC) reached
USD 9.3 billion
per year in 2010-12, representing 7.1% of total official development assistance (ODA).
Of total adaptation-related aid commitments, 29% (USD 2.7bn) explicitly targets adaptation as a
, whilst 71% (USD 6.6bn) targets adaptation as a
objective, indicating that
adaptation is mainstreamed into activities that were primarily motivated by other development objectives. In contrast, 69% of mitigation-related aid went to activities where mitigation was the
Total climate-related aid
per year over 2010-2012 reached
USD 21.5 billion
; 58% targets mitigation only, 25% targets adaptation only, and 18% targets mitigation and adaptation together.
Adaptation-related aid is
concentrated in a few sectors and activity types
: environment-related capacity-building; water; agriculture, forestry, fishing and rural development; disaster risk reduction and response.
Least developed countries and other low-income countries
receive 25% of total adaptation-related aid, where two thirds goes to LDCs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast 13% of mitigation aid goes to LDCs and other LICs.
of all adaptation-related aid commitments
, in contrast to mitigation-related aid commitments, of which 58% are loans.
Since 1998 the DAC has monitored aid targeting the objectives of the Rio Conventions through its Creditor Reporting System (CRS) using the
Every aid activity reported to the CRS should be screened and marked as either (i) targeting the Conventions as a
, or (ii) not targeting the objective. The adaptation marker was introduced in 2010. Markers indicate
donors’ policy objectives in relation to each aid activity. Activities marked as having a “
” climate objective (mitigation or adaptation) would not have been funded but for that objective; activities marked “
” have other prime objectives but have been formulated or
adjusted to help meet climate concerns. The markers allow an approximate quantification of aid flows that target climate objectives. In marker data presentations the figures for
objectives are shown separately and the sum referred to as the “upper bound” of
With only three years of adaptation data, caution should be taken in discerning trends.
How much bilateral aid is going towards climate change adaptation?
Total adaptation-related aid commitments reached USD 9.3bn
on average per year in bilateral ODA in 2010-2012, representing 7.1% of total ODA commitments (Chart 1). Of this, aid targeting adaptation as a
objective reached USD 2.7bn and as a
objective reached USD 6.6bn. The total reflects
bilateral ODA to adaptation. In total, 72% of adaptation-related aid in 2010-12 is targeting adaptation as a
objective, reflecting that adaptation is increasingly mainstreamed within on-going development co-operation activities that are at risk to climate change.
Over half of adaptation-related activities target multiple environmental objectives
; an average of 42% of adaptation ODA also targets climate change mitigation, 31% targets biodiversity, and 20% targets desertification objectives. Adaptation represents about 43% of total climate aid (including the portion that contributes to both mitigation and adaptation).
Chart 1. Total adaptation-related aid
2010-12, bilateral commitments, USD billion, constant 2011 prices, annual and 3-year annual average 0%1%2%3%4%5%6%7%8%024681012201020112012Average2010-2012
S h a r e o f t o t a l O D A c o m m i t m e n t s U S D b i l l i o n
PrincipalSignificant% of total ODA commitments
OECD DAC Statistics
Aid to Climate Change Adaptation