Subsequent statements and declarations made it fairly clear that all $100 billion was meant to be new and additional –presumably ‘new and additional’ to existing financial transfers to developing countries. But there is no consensus definition of “new and additional climate finance.” That raises the concern that that such finance might be provided at the cost of existing support for development.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) isn’t what it used to be: each aid dollar is worth a lot less in terms of development outcomes. In large part that’s because the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the donor club within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that decides what counts as ODA, keeps changing the rules to include ever more spending that doesn’t deliver resources to recipient countries. It raises the question: does the DAC have a constructive role anymore?