Guidelines for Reporting Information on Public Climate Finance

This issue brief by the World Resources Institute provides recommendations for improving the reporting and compilation of public climate finance data to ensure transparency, accuracy, and comparability among UNFCCC Parties.

• The current system for reporting public sector climate finance by bilateral and multilateral institutions is insufficient, as UNFCCC reporting guidelines are neither comprehensive nor transparent. This lack of data on financing levels, usage, and beneficiaries leads to poor coordination among donor countries and a lack of trust between developed and developing nations, which obstructs negotiations for a post-2012 international climate treaty.
• To improve transparency, Parties to the Convention should adopt a standardized financial reporting format utilizing common definitions and methodologies to quantify climate finance. The scope and cost of this effort will depend on the specific types of data Parties determine they require from the reporting system.
• While better data can technically track increases or decreases in climate finance over time, it cannot independently determine if funds are 'new and additional' to official development assistance. Determining additionality is a separate political process requiring agreement on methodologies and data sources outside the UNFCCC.
• The brief recommends a more robust review process for reported data, which could involve the use of independent, non-political technical financial experts, voluntary pilot projects, clear rules for civil society participation, and improved record keeping to enable cross-country comparisons.
• There is a significant data gap regarding private sector climate finance, except for renewable energy. More research is required to track private funds, including those leveraged by public funding, through mechanisms like equity finance, bank loans, and venture capital funds.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Guidelines for Reporting Information on Public Climate Finance. https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-reporting-information-public-climate-finance

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Guidelines for Reporting Information on Public Climate Finance. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-reporting-information-public-climate-finance.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Guidelines for Reporting Information on Public Climate Finance |url=https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-reporting-information-public-climate-finance |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendguidelines, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Guidelines for Reporting Information on Public Climate Finance}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-reporting-information-public-climate-finance}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }