French President François Hollande confirmed last week a major reform of the country’s aid program that would boost its annual development budget from 8.5 billion euros ($9.27 billion) to 12.5 billion euros by 2020.
The French Development Agency — or AFD — will be integrated under the Deposits and Consignments Fund, a financial organization under control of the French Parliament. AFD’s yearly development budget will increase by 4 billion euros by 2020, of which half of that increase will be directed towards climate change — raising annual climate financing from 3 billion to 5 billion euros by 2020.
This reform is a direct result of a “redefinition” of sustainable development, which included the creation of a global framework for financing development post-2015 — also known as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on finance for development, the Sustainable Development Goals, and last month’s Paris Climate Agreement, according to a French government report on the reform released last week.