Does ODA Grow on Trees? A Legal Analysis of REDD-ODA Finance

Abstract

What sources of funding are available to enable the REDD to meet its potential in mitigating the effects of climate change? This article examines the possibilities and limits of using Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a source of REDD finance. The argument is two-fold, firstly that securing a source of public start-up funding is essential to the effectiveness of REDD, and secondly that ODA is in a position to fulfil that role with a number of additional benefits to contributors. In adopting ODA, there are a number of possible approaches which could be used as a basis, and here it is argued that an essentially co-benefits approach is the most likely option for producing meaningful collaboration between the two regimes. Following on from this, a number of potential building blocks for a REDD-ODA legal framework are explored.