We have recently witnessed a proliferation of new funds and financial tools to address global environmental issues, notably climate change, deforestation (in the context of carbon mitigation) and biodiversity.

Though potentially of great positive impact, there are also quite a number of potential downsides to the current trend such as the creation of a mega-fund that lacks broad public oversight and accountability or the multiplication of small funds that work at cross purposes. Given that negotiations are taking place outside of any sanctioned international forum or multilateral framework, there is a risk that these funds may duplicate or contradict mechanisms that form the foundation of internationally-agreed multilateral agreements implemented under the aegis of the United Nations.

The purpose of this study is to obtain all pertinent information and to present an analysis of recent developments and trends in global environmental finance in order to inform a WWF network wide process to develop appropriate policies and advocacy approaches. This analysis, focusing on European-based initiatives, will complement a second piece of analysis to be conducted from Washington under the supervision of WWF-US.