The OECD regularly publishes reports upon the flows of international climate finance. Absent an agreed definition of climate finance and a transparent and up to date mechanism that reports on flows, the OECD reports are often relied on (particularly by developed countries) as reflective of the current status quo. In a latest update by the OECD, it is claimed that climate finance provided and mobilised by developed countries for climate action in developing countries reached $89.6 billion in 2021. Although this was 8% higher than the previous year it was still $10 billion short. They also conclude that “on the basis of preliminary and as yet unverified data available to the OECD to date, the goal looks likely to have already been met as of 2022.” These findings typically take some time to generate as available data is gathered and verified and may only be confirmed next year. They are also highly disputed as they rely heavily on flows of private finance. Other analyses, particularly those by Oxfam, arrive at very different (and lower) amounts, on the basis that they adopt a narrower definition of climate finance.
