Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the financial aid commitments made by them to foreign countries at the Paris Climate Summit will be met from the overseas aid budget, or from which other sources; and what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that the funds provided are used exclusively for the purpose intended.

The Government will provide £5.8 billion over the next five years to support developing countries using the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF), which is channeled through DFID, the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. All ICF support is Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK is proud to be a 0.7% donor and is promoting climate smart development across the aid portfolio.

We have rigorous programme design processes and robust monitoring and evaluation arrangements for ODA spending, including the ICF. We also use independently reviewed methodologies and key performance indicators to track impact and the value for money of ICF interventions. The Independent Commission on Aid Impact gave the ICF a positive assessment in December 2014, saying it was well on the way to achieving its ambitious objectives.