Aligning Development Co-operation and Climate Action
The Only Way Forward
Climate change is altering the ecological and social systems that underpin human well-being and economic activity, and developing countries are particularly vulnerable to its impact on the growth and sustainable development prospects of every sector and community. Being part of the solution requires all providers of development co-operation to align their activities with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. However many still lack the mandates, resources, incentives and strategies to do so. This report outlines how providers can make changes at home, in developing countries and in the international development co-operation system, to help create low-emissions, climate-resilient economies, and how they can avoid supporting activities that lock the world into an unsustainable future.
What does Paris alignment mean for development co-operation?
What does development co-operation look like when it is aligned with the Paris Agreement? This chapter outlines its four main characteristics: (i) it does not undermine the Paris Agreement but rather contributes to the required transformation (ii) it catalyses countries' transitions to low‑emissions, climate-resilient pathways (iii) it supports the short- and long-term processes under the Paris Agreement (iv) it proactively responds to evidence as well as to opportunities to address needs in developing countries. This chapter then discusses how some providers are already actively pursuing Paris alignment, and examines how development finance patterns and allocations point to significant remaining gaps and inconsistencies in integrating climate objectives.