The UK’s Overseas Development Assistance

We need coherent solutions to tackle the interconnected problems of poverty, nature loss and climate change. Currently, the UK Government offers crucial support through Official Development Assistance (ODA) to make UN targets addressing all three crisis areas a reality. The RSPB has been working with a range of partners to ensure that finance committed under ODA delivers joined-up solutions for people, nature and climate change. 

In 2019, we published a joint report which set out the key principles and priorities needed to ensure ODA funded projects achieve sustainable development outcomes. The RSPB and CAFOD also commissioned research assessing whether UK ODA spend on agriculture is contributing to sustainable development. Both clearly indicated that currently ODA is not doing enough or reaching its potential to jointly tackle poverty, climate change and biodiversity loss.

Read The Reports:

UK ODA and Sustainable Development

UK ODA spend on agriculture

The last few years have seen several countries commit 30% of their climate finance (through ODA) to nature-based solutions. The UK Government has also committed £3bn of international climate finance for nature. We will continue to work with partners to make sure that the UK’s ODA delivers for nature, climate and people, and that the finance committed to nature is used where it is needed most.

International Finance Institutions are spending billions of dollars on development projects around the world, which often have damaging consequences for nature. A significant proportion of UK aid money is channeled through the World Bank and other IFIs. The RSPB is advocating for clearer accountability in the flow of international finance and for banks to strengthen their social and environmental safeguards to address these issues.