Reporting of international climate finance remains flawed, and profoundly unfair says Oxfam.

Many rich countries are using dishonest and misleading accounting to inflate their climate finance contributions to developing countries – in 2020 by as much as 225 per cent, according to investigations by Oxfam.

Oxfam estimates between just $21-24.5bn as the “true value” of climate finance provided in 2020, against a reported figure of $68.bn in public finance that rich countries said was provided (alongside mobilised private finance bringing the total to $83.3bn). The global climate finance target is supposed to be $100bn a year.

“Rich country contributions not only continue to fall miserably below their promised goal but are also very misleading in often counting the wrong things in the wrong way. They’re overstating their own generosity by painting a rosy picture that obscures how much is really going to poor countries,” said Nafkote Dabi of Oxfam.

Oxfam research found that instruments such as loans are being reported at face value, ignoring repayments and other factors. Too often funded projects have less climate-focus than reported, making the net value of support specifically aiming at climate action significantly lower than actual reported climate finance figures.

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