The UK Government has set up the International Climate Fund (ICF) to help developing countries tackle climate change and reduce poverty. We will work in partnership with developing countries to take action to reduce carbon emissions, to help people adapt to the effects of climate change and to tackle deforestation.
The UK will provide £2.9 billion of international climate finance through the ICF from April 2011 to March 2015.
The ICF demonstrates that we are delivering on the commitments we have made in the UN international climate negotiations. It fully funds our £1.5 billion Fast Start finance pledge to 2012, and shows our commitment to delivering our fair share of climate finance to developing countries beyond 2012. This puts the UK on track in terms of the global long term goal to jointly mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate finance in developing countries.
The ICF is split between three government departments – DECC, the Department for International Development (DFID), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). DECC is responsible for delivering £1 billion of the ICF.
The ICF will be Official Development Assistance (ODA) and will be spent in line with OECD Development Assistance Committee guidelines.
What will the ICF Fund?
Decisions on how the ICF will be spent are made jointly by DECC, DFID and DEFRA. Ministers have agreed three broad priorities for the ICF:
- Demonstrate that building low carbon, climate resilient growth at scale is feasible and desirable.
- Support the negotiations, particularly through providing support for adaptation in poor countries and building an effective international architecture.
- Recognise that climate change offers real opportunities to drive innovation and new ideas for action, and create new partnerships with the private sector to support low carbon climate resilient growth.
An overview of the purpose of the ICF, the main areas it will focus on, and an outline of what we intend to achieve can be found in the International Climate Fund information pamphlet.