This series of short, introductory briefings are designed for readers new to the debate on global climate change financing. In light of the fast pace of developments in climate finance, the briefs provide a better understanding of the quantity and quality of financial flows going to developing countries.

Since 2008, over USD 4 billion has been pledged to multilateral climate funds that support efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation plus conservation (REDD+). Despite strong interest in the potential to harness market based mechanisms to support REDD+ programmes, the future of such mechanisms remains highly uncertain. The last year has seen few approvals for REDD+, though the announcement of the Green Climate Fund’s five-year pilot for REDD+ worth USD 500 million gives forest conservation efforts a timely financing boost.

Cumulatively, USD 1.7 billion has been approved for REDD+ activities since 2008; however, just USD 54 million has been approved in the last 12 months. Norway is the largest contributor of REDD+ finance, followed by the UK, Germany and the United States. There have been some significant changes in the REDD+ finance architecture and increasing efforts to support developing countries’ move beyond readiness and capacity building to demonstration programmes and emission reductions with payments based on verified results.