Recommendation 9

HM Government Accepted

Partially Agree 37. The FCDO increasingly utilises disaggregated data, including gender, disability, and geographic information, to inform inclusive planning for clean energy access, though availability and consistency vary across programmes. 38. Geographic data is routinely collected for infrastructure projects, while detailed end-user data is often challenging for large-scale or indirect beneficiary interventions. However, market studies, surveys, and consultations help ensure responsiveness to diverse needs. 39. We acknowledge that disaggregated data on people with improved clean energy access is low and more could be done to improve this. The upcoming Portfolio Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) contract will make targeted improvements to climate finance KPIs and reporting systems to strengthen disaggregated data reporting on gender and disability. We will also work with value-for-money assessments for future climate finance, which would provide an opportunity to better integrate considerations of long-term social impacts and inclusivity into decision-making processes. In addition, we recognise the need to make better use of existing evidence on the social impacts and benefits of climate finance interventions to inform future approaches. 40. We are also exploring potential approaches to evaluating community-led projects via the Portfolio MEL contract which could include evaluation on long-term equity, accessibility and system legitimacy, aligned with our ICF GEDSI statement. 41. Participatory approaches to MEL are also important to understand community perceptions on whether the energy system is fair, inclusive and trustworthy. 42. At this stage, we are unable to commit to adopting a multi-dimensional evaluation framework for community-led energy projects by June 2026. Any decision on adopting a framework will depend on future resourcing beyond FY25/26 commitments. 4 Clean Energy for Climate Climate Mitigation (Conclusion 9, paragraph 65) The Government should not hide behind the complexities of the global clean energy transition. Aid must advance poverty alleviation while also contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation. While these objectives can sometimes pull in different directions, trade-offs should be openly acknowledged, publicly debated, and addressed through deliberate and transparent policy choices. This is not happening at present. Government Response 43. We acknowledge the complexity of balancing poverty alleviation with climate mitigation and adaptation and agree that these trade-offs should be addressed transparently. We are committed to ensuring that UK aid delivers on both objectives in a deliberate and evidence-based way. While these priorities can diverge, we are working to improve openness in decision-making and strengthen policy coherence. This includes publishing of clearer strategies, engaging stakeholders in dialogue, and embedding trade-off analysis into programme design to ensure choices are transparent and accountable. We are confident that our clean energy access programming is very much at the intersection of interventions targeting strong human development, economic, gender/inclusion, and climate and nature benefits. (Recommendation 10, paragraph 66) In its response to this report, the Government should provide a clear definition of “clean energy” for ODA purposes, explicitly stating the energy sources supported, and their climate and other environmental impacts. This should also be published on the FCDO’s website. Government Response: Agree 44. We account for all our ICF using the internationally agreed OECD-DAC guidelines for climate finance. These serve as a standardised reporting framework for climate-related development finance. 45. We report on ICF results on an annual basis. In our ICF indicator for reporting on clean energy capacity installed, ‘clean energy’ is defined as: “Low and zero carbon energy generation sources, including but not limited to the following technologies: wind power, solar photovoltaic (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP), marine energy (including wave energy and tidal energy), hydropower, ‘clean coal’ using carbon capture and storage (CCS), second generation biofuels, clean cookstoves, and biomass boilers and kilns for process heating/drying. It does not include nuclear energy.” This guidance is published in the UK International Climate Finance Results: methodologies and reports–GOV.UK.6 (Recommendation 11, paragraph 67) The Government should require all energy access projects to include a clear assessment of trade- offs in funding bids, alongside a plan for monitoring impacts and communicating risks to stakeholders. Government Response: Partially Agree 46. We agree in principle that energy access projects should consider and communicate the key trade-offs inherent in their design—such as technology choice, affordability versus financial sustainability, speed versus inclusion, and mitigation-adaptation co-benefits—alongside propor