Methodology

This website represents the first comprehensive public analysis of UK international nature finance spending since the government's £3 billion nature finance and £1.5bn forest finance commitments were announced in 2021.

Data Collection

All figures were obtained through separate Freedom of Information (FoI) requests submitted to three government departments:

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
  • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Responses regarding nature ICF spend were received between September and November 2025, covering the first four years of the ICF3 commitment period (2021-2025).

Responses regarding forest ICF spend were received between January and February 2026, covering the first four years of the ICF3 commitment period 2021-2025.

Minor discrepancies in the nature and forest finance figures reported across the three departments are being followed up with the relevant teams. Updated figures will be provided as soon as they are available.

Data Processing

The raw data from each department was sorted and merged where relevant to create a coherent picture of UK nature finance. Specific processing steps included:

  • Consolidating replenishments: Multiple contributions to the same multilateral fund were combined e.g. Green Climate Fund (GCF) replenishments
  • Merging programme phases: Multi-phase programmes were tracked as single initiatives where appropriate
  • Cross-departmental programmes: Programmes funded by multiple departments were identified and their contributions aggregated

Coverage Period

This analysis covers financial years 2021/22 through 2024/25-the first four years of the five-year ICF3 commitment period (which runs until 2025/26). This website will be updated with 2025/26 data as soon as it becomes available

Definitions

  • ICF (International Climate Finance): UK aid funding that supports developing countries to respond to climate change
  • ICF3: The third five-year cycle of UK climate finance commitments (2021-2026, £11.6 billion total)
  • Nature finance: The £3 billion subset of ICF3 dedicated to protecting and restoring nature
  • Forests finance: The £1.5 billion subset of nature finance specifically for forest protection and restoration

Limitations

  • Data relies on internal government reporting, which may differ from official UN climate finance reporting
  • Figures represent recorded spend, which may differ from committed or disbursed amounts
  • Some programmes may have been classified differently across departments
  • 2025/26 data is not yet available, so final achievement against the £3 billion and £1.5 billion targets cannot be assessed

Why FoI Was Necessary

The UK government has not published consolidated annual project-level climate finance data since 2020, when EU reporting requirements lapsed, with the most recent project-level biannual reporting under the UNFCCC only covering the period to 2022. Since the introduction of the nature and forest finance commitents in 2021, there has been no recurring public disclosure of nature finance totals or programme-level spending, making FoI requests the only way to obtain this information.

About the Analysis

This tracker was produced by Campaign for Nature and Conservation International UK in February 2026 to promote transparency and accountability in UK international nature finance.