Reports

This paper provides an overview of the main trends in development finance with biodiversity-related objectives for the period 2011 to 2020, using available OECD statistical data, from various sources. The resources covered are: Official Development Assistance and non-concessional development finance, both bilateral and multilateral, from members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) as well as non-members, including South-South and Triangular Co-operation; private finance mobilised by public interventions; and private philanthropy. In addition, this paper assesses financing provided by bilateral DAC members that are Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, looking at how they fared collectively against the Aichi Target 20 on development finance. The paper was prepared by the DAC ENVIRONET Secretariat, with inputs from the OECD Environment Directorate, and with guidance from a group of DAC members.

Russia’s war against Ukraine and the international sanctions introduced against the former have had an unexpectedly mild impact on Central Asia, despite the region’s deep economic dependence on its northern neighbour. Notwithstanding high inflation, the five Central Asian states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – have so far shown surprising resilience to the economic headwinds: remittances registered record-high figures in the first half of 2022, national currencies quickly rebounded to pre-war levels after an initial drop, and an influx of skilled workers boosted demand for services and hospitality. However, as the medium-term effects of the sanctions against Russia, the global cost-of-living crisis, and China’s economic slowdown start to unfold, Central Asia is faced with lingering uncertainty. This publication provides an assessment of the short-term effects of Russia’s war on Central Asian economies and the policy responses provided. It also analyses the challenges ahead and formulates policy recommendations to make Central Asian economies more resilient and diversified.

This report reviews evidence that overshooting 1.5°C may push the earth over several tipping points, leading to irreversible and severe changes in the climate system. If triggered, tipping point impacts will rapidly cascade through socio-economic and ecological systems, leading to severe effects on human and natural systems and imposing important challenges for human adaptation. Of particular concern are the likely collapse of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and the abrupt melting of permafrost grounds in the Arctic, which would result in additional sea-level rise and greenhouse gas releases, leading to more warming. Based on the most recent science and consultations with renowned experts, Climate Tipping Points: Insights for Effective Policy Action argues that it is no longer appropriate to consider the risk of crossing tipping points as low-probability. Overshooting 1.5°C may likely lead to irreversible and severe impacts, which must be avoided, heightening the urgency to drastically reduce emissions within this decade. The report calls for a shift in how tipping points are treated in climate policy today and provides recommendations on how climate risk management strategies can better reflect the risks of tipping points in the areas of mitigation, adaptation and technological innovation.

Nearly three years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a succession of mutually reinforcing crises and a challenging global context are putting the multilateral development system under pressure. Multilateral development finance is stretched across an ever expanding list of priorities, ranging from humanitarian crisis response to the provision of global and regional public goods. The urgent nature of these crises requires renewed efforts to strengthen the financial capacity of the multilateral development system but should not divert attention from other parts of the reform agenda, such as the need to reduce the fragmentation of the multilateral architecture. This third edition of the Multilateral Development Finance report presents recent trends in multilateral development finance in order to inform decisions by the members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) on their strategic engagement with multilateral organisations. It presents an overview of challenges and ongoing reform efforts, and examines the evolution of financial flows to, and from, multilateral organisations. The report is supplemented by online statistics on DAC members’ multilateral contributions, available in the Development Co-operation Profiles.

Rural regions in Colombia have untapped potential to boost wealth and well-being in the country. Despite remarkable economic growth over the last two decades, Colombia’s development policy needs to increase its focus on rurality, as regional inequalities remain high by OECD standards and structural challenges still prevent greater development in rural places. This report assesses trends, challenges and opportunities of rural Colombia and examines the country’s rural development policy. It offers recommendations to mobilise rural assets and improve rural well-being with a focus on: strengthening multi-government coordination and policy implementation; enhancing transport and broadband connectivity as well as accessibility to quality education and health and; improving land use management in rural Colombia.

The consequences of climate change in developing countries are worsening fast: many ecosystems will shortly reach points of irreversible damage, and socio-economic costs will continue to rise. To alleviate the future impacts on populations and economies, policy makers are looking for the spaces where they can make the greatest difference. This report argues that intermediary cities in developing countries are such spaces. Indeed, in the context of fast population growth and urbanisation, these small and medium-sized cities silently play an essential role in the rapid transformation of human settlements, not least by supporting the massive flows of population, goods and services between rural and metropolitan areas. Most of those intermediary cities are still growing: now is therefore the time to influence their dynamics, and thereby the entire design of urbanisation in those regions, in ways that limit the exposure of urban dwellers to climate shocks and avoid carbon lock-in. To that end, based on fresh evidence and policy analysis on the challenges faced by these agglomerations in the context of climate change, the report makes the case for new development approaches to avoid the unsustainable paths followed by too many cities in the recent past.

How can fossil fuel producers and mineral-rich developing countries design realistic, just and cost-effective low-carbon transition pathways? Taking into account the heterogeneity of low-carbon trajectories, the Equitable Framework and Finance for Extractive-based Countries in Transition (EFFECT) provides options for policy makers, industry and finance institutions in search of the answers. The report aims to help them seize the transformational opportunities linked to sustainable, low-carbon growth. It identifies ways of mitigating the transition’s impacts on fossil fuel industries, workers and poor households, and of preventing the risks of high-carbon lock-in and stranded assets. Recognising the shared responsibility of consuming and producing countries in reducing fossil fuel production and use, EFFECT advocates for transformative partnerships for technology transfer, green finance and capacity building. Ultimately, it supports an equitable sharing of the transition’s benefits and costs, both across and within countries.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts peer reviews of individual members once every five to six years. Reviews seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of members’ development co-operation, highlighting good practices and recommending improvements. The United States has led with substantial ODA contributions in response to multiple crises. Twenty-one US government agencies programme and deliver foreign assistance. USAID systematically incorporates collaboration, learning and adapting in its programme cycle and works to increase diversity, equity and inclusion by championing locally-led approaches. This peer review provides a set of recommendations for the United States to mitigate negative transboundary effects of its policies, promote more flexible budget appropriations in line with needs, equip its development finance institution to deliver and adopt a clearer approach to multilateral partnerships. It recommends that the United States puts development effectiveness at the heart of localisation, reinforce human resources, and consider conflict prevention in all country programmes.