Policy Context

Protection of the environment and natural resources is one of three priorities in Austria’s 2022-2024 Development Cooperation Strategy. The strategy defines three sub-priorities, namely, fighting climate change and promoting decarbonization, enhancing climate resilience and disaster prevention and preparedness, and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity.

Austria’s multilateral climate finance is largely provided by the Federal Ministry of Finance. Additionally, the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology and the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs provide the contribution to the GCF and bilateral climate funding.

The Austrian Strategy for International Climate Finance, which was revised in 2017, includes a commitment to mainstreaming of climate across relevant ministries, integrating climate into the three-year programs on development cooperation and the Finance Ministry’s guidelines on international finance institutions. Austria is committed to the target of collectively providing US$100 billion in climate finance annually between 2020 and 2025 and an equal share between climate mitigation and adaptation.

ODA Spending

How much ODA does Austria allocate to climate projects?

In 2021, Austria allocated a total of US$145 million to climate funding, including principal and significant funding. This represented 30% of bilateral allocable ODA in 2021, ranking Austria 8^th DAC donor.

How is Austria's climate-related ODA changing?

Austria’s ODA to climate was stable around US$78 million between 2017-2019 and spiked in 2020 to US$185 million, and has remained at elevated, though somewhat decreased, levels. Similarly, Austria’s share of bilateral ODA funding climate programs has increased from an average of 25% in between 2017 and 2019 to 38% in 2020.

In 2021, Denmark spent US$249 million on climate adaptation, of which US$139 million was cross-cutting projects related to both adaptation and mitigation.