Guidance

International Climate Finance (ICF) statement of voluntary compliance of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

Published 1 March 2024

Introduction

This statement shows how the UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF) results publication has followed the principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics, where possible. The Code is framed around 3 main concepts or pillars:

• Trustworthiness: the confidence in the people and organisations that produce statistics and data
• Quality: data and methods that produce assured statistics
• Value: statistics that support society’s needs for information

The UK ICF is Official Development Assistance (ODA) spent on climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The portfolio of programmes is delivered by 3 UK government departments:

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

FCDO publishes annual results estimates that monitor the impact of the UK’s ICF through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). While FCDO leads on the publication of these, the results framework, data collection and quality assurance are undertaken by all 3 departments.

The following sections explain how the 3 departments have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way, demonstrating Voluntary Compliance. This is in line with the Guide to Voluntary Application of The Code. Note that these results estimates do not represent Official Statistics due to variable quality in the underlying data.

Trustworthiness

The ICF results estimates are collected and quality assured by analysts in FCDO, DESNZ and Defra. These analysts also work collaboratively on indicator development, interpretation of methodologies, and dissemination of results. The cross-government team represents multiple analytical professions including statisticians, economists, operational and social researchers.

The team in FCDO that leads on the publication on behalf of HM Government (HMG) are members of the Government Statistical Service (GSS). They have a professional line of accountability to FCDO’s Chief Statistician and therefore the National Statistician. The ICF results publication aims to present results estimates in an objective manner, including:

• narrative for each KPI which explains what the indicator measures, the change compared with the previous year and the number of programmes contributing to each indicator
• information on the revisions policy, which sets out our procedures in the event of revisions and corrections to results data
• methodology notes for each of the ICF KPIs and previous years’ results publications on the website
• clear signposting on the frequency of the publication, and pre-announcement of the publication dates

Quality

Information on ICF results is collected from FCDO country- and regional offices, central departments in FCDO, DESNZ and Defra, and multilateral institutions. The results data collected originates from a variety of sources, including representative sample surveys of households, management information systems held by partner country governments, and individual project data generated from routine project monitoring by implementing partners, often in challenging environments.

Given the range of data sources used, the accuracy of the results data varies and is subject to the quality of the underlying data source. In many cases FCDO, DESNZ and Defra use data collected by others (for example, partner country governments or international organisations) and therefore have limited control over the quality of the data. Verifying the quality of the data provided by partners can be challenging in the context of developing countries.

ICF results estimates are produced in line with published methodology notes set out the requirements for results to be counted towards different indicators. The methodologies have been developed in liaison with external topic experts and departmental specialists. Analysts in FCDO, DESNZ and Defra undertake quality assurance of the results data to minimise errors and improve adherence to the prescribed methodologies. Examples of the types of error we aim to minimise include:

• double counting: counting the same beneficiary more than once in a programme across different years
• attribution errors: claiming more results than can be directly associated with ICF-funded interventions
• additionality errors: results that would have occurred without the ICF-supported intervention

The cross-government working team of analysts in FCDO, DESNZ and Defra meet monthly to discuss areas of the work within the ICF such as value for money, portfolio evaluations, best practice and shared initiatives to improve results reporting.

Value

The ICF results estimates enable HMG to report publicly on its climate change impacts and demonstrate the value of ICF investments to the UK public. ICF results are also used by ministers, policy makers and external stakeholders. By publishing these results, we are reducing the administrative burden on all sides for accessing information in the public interest. HMG results analysts also share the ICF KPI methodologies with relevant partners across UK government departments and with international partners to promote this public good.

The ICF results are continually reviewed and improved:

• the KPI framework is improved to ensure relevance, optimise use of resources, and reflect evolving priorities based on latest best-practice
• the data is improved over time with a commitment to publishing more information, as appropriate
• the publication is improved to provide additional background information and clarity to enable users to understand the strengths and limitations of ICF results estimates and use and interpret them appropriately
• users can provide feedback to FCDO statisticians via the email address provided in the results publication
• in 2023 we ran a consultation about changes to the publication to ensure users had the opportunity to comment and feedback on the publication

The ICF results estimates are published annually on a dedicated International Climate Finance page on GOV.UK. This gathers indicator methodologies, the latest and all previous results publications in one location.