Study on EU financing of REDD+ related activities, and results-based payments pre and post 2020: Sources, cost-effectiveness and fair allocation of incentives

Abstract

This study provides an assessment of major public, institutional and private flows of direct and indirect REDD+ finance to 41 recipient countries, as well as their capacity to implement REDD+. It aims to support decisions that can promote the implementation of REDD+ at scale. The assessment is based on a three-dimensional technical benchmark system and an Internationally Supported Emissions Reduction (ISER) index, representing the potential emission reductions from a country that is likely to receive financial support from donors and investors. The study finds that donors are not necessarily allocating REDD+ funding to countries with the highest potential to realise emission reductions. Furthermore, there is a clear potential to support building systems for Measurement-Reporting-Verification and Forest Governance, especially in African REDD+ countries. With regards to private REDD+ finance, there is little quantitative information available. Flows of private money into the soft commodity production and value chains in REDD+ recipient countries, however, appear to be three orders of magnitude larger than total public REDD+ support in the period 2008- 2015. Therefore, there is a potential to link REDD+ finance to investments in sustainable commodity chains in REDD+ countries.