Foreword

A transition towards environmentally sustainable, low-emissions and climate-resilient development pathways is a critical component of all countries’ ability to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This challenge is prompting new approaches to aligning international development co-operation with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and other international agreements. As such, all development co-operation providers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to strengthen their efforts to better support development partners in this transition by adopting new commitments, strategies and tools.

At their High-Level Meeting on 9-10 November 2020, Members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) set out a number of commitments and aspirations with respect to their approach to environmental and climate action through development co-operation. These commitments are contained in the DAC High-Level Meeting (HLM) Communiqué.

This report was prepared in response to the commitment by DAC Members to “ report […] on the individual and collective steps […] taken to give effect to the voluntary commitments set out in this communiqué with regard to climate and the environment before COP26.” As a result, the main objectives of this report are to enhance accountability, promote transparency and take stock of what DAC Members are doing, both on a collective and on an individual basis, to ensure that these commitments translate into more effective development co-operation in support of environmental and climate action. As such, it provides a basis, and at the same time complements, the new decisions made in the OECD DAC Declaration on a new approach to align development co-operation with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The report is organised around four core commitments included in the DAC HLM Communiqué. They are: 1) to co-ordinate development approaches with international climate and environment objectives through a member-driven process; 2) to ensure that post-COVID-19 development policies and programmes are consistent with international climate and environment objectives by integrating them systematically; 3) to support developing countries to achieve their own transitions to environmentally sustainable, low-emissions and climate-resilient development pathways, including by promoting sustainable, quality infrastructure; and 4) to improve how DAC policies address the particular needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and to working with them to address obstacles in accessing finance for resilient and sustainable development.

The report contains information reported by DAC Members based on an agreed format and consolidated by the OECD. It is divided into two sections:

• Overview chapter: For each of the four core commitments, each sub-section outlines an overall picture emerging from Members’ individual actions while also identifying emerging trends at the DAC level.

• Country profiles: For each DAC Member, they provide an overview on relevant efforts for the commitments on systematic integration of climate and environmental objectives, on transition support, and on SIDS. The commitment on co-ordinated approaches is reflected in the DAC Declaration to COP26 presented in the overview chapter.