The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2017: Methodology

The document details the methodology for the Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2017, defining climate finance as capital flows for low-carbon and climate-resilient development. It specifies the inclusion of mitigation, adaptation, and dual-benefit finance while excluding fossil fuel-based lower-carbon generation and private R&D. The accounting scope focuses on annual financial commitments, covering grants, loans, equity, and balance sheet financing, while excluding risk management instruments and secondary market transactions to avoid double counting. It further defines the classification of public and private finance, the data sources used (such as BNEF and OECD), and the sectoral breakdowns for mitigation and adaptation activities.

• The methodology defines climate finance as capital flows directed toward low-carbon and climate-resilient development interventions that provide direct or indirect greenhouse gas mitigation or adaptation benefits, including support for policy implementation and capacity building.
• Mitigation finance is defined as resources for reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing GHG sinks, but specifically excludes private R&D in technology, manufacturing of green technologies, and fossil fuel-based lower-carbon generation to prevent double counting and carbon lock-in.
• Adaptation finance is defined as resources aimed at reducing the vulnerability of human or natural systems to climate change impacts by increasing resilience and adaptive capacity.
• The accounting scope tracks annual financial commitments rather than disbursements, including grants, low-cost and market term loans, project-level equity, and balance sheet financing, while excluding risk management instruments and secondary market transactions.
• Private climate finance is analyzed through large-scale renewable energy projects (over 246 GW capacity across 81 countries), small-scale renewable energy, and solar heating systems, treating state-owned enterprises as private entities due to data limitations.
• Public climate finance includes commitments from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), bilateral climate-related development finance reported to the OECD-DAC, and national and multilateral Climate Funds.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2017). The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2017: Methodology. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GLCF-2017-Methodology-Document.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2017: Methodology. 2017. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GLCF-2017-Methodology-Document.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2017: Methodology |date=2017 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GLCF-2017-Methodology-Document.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2017global, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2017: Methodology}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GLCF-2017-Methodology-Document.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }