Ministers face allegations of “moving the goalposts” to fulfill the UK’s global climate promises, as £1.7bn from the aid budget is redirected to environmental aid for poorer nations.
Despite these adjustments, the government’s official aid watchdog warns that Downing Street might still fall short of the £11.6bn target, citing substantial cuts to overseas aid budgets.
Independent Commission for Aid Impact report says, “To meet the UK’s climate finance commitment, the government opted to adjust its accounting methodology, essentially moving the goalposts for achieving the £11.6bn,” adding that without the changes, ministers had no chance of meeting the target.
“All of these changes meant that the government counted an extra £1.724bn towards the target, while countries expecting support from the ICF [international climate finance] pledge did not receive any additional money to tackle climate change.”
The report highlights that the reclassifications represent a significant portion, 15%, of the UK’s total climate pledge, damaging the government’s reputation as a climate leader.
The UK’s £11.6bn commitment, originating from UN climate conferences, was applauded for positioning the UK as a leader in climate finance.
This commitment aimed to contribute to the global goal of mobilizing $100bn annually for climate finance, established in 2009.
The UK announced the £11.6bn pledge at the UN general assembly in 2019, covering the five years until March 2026. However, the ICAI report indicates that the government still needs to secure 55% of this amount in the final two years of the pledge. Notably, a significant portion (£2.6bn) of the promise is scheduled for spending in the last year, 2025-26, after a general election.
This backloading could create substantial budgetary challenges for any incoming Labour government’s aid program.
