Since 2008, the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) cooperates with partner countries in the practical implementation of climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation measures. Since its establishment, it has launched more than 500 climate and biodiversity projects. The total project volume since 2008 amounts to 2.3 billion euro. The resources for international climate and biodiversity activities have grown steadily since the programme was launched. Whereas some 170 million euro was available for on-going projects in 2008, by 2014 the figure had risen to 318 million euro. In recent years, the German Government has steadily increased its commitments to climate change mitigation measures.
The projects are carried out by a broad range of implementing organisations: the German Government's major implementing organisations Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and KfW Entwicklungsbank, multilateral organisations like United Nations organisations and multilateral development banks, NGOs, research institutes, foundations and private companies.
IKI focuses on four funding areas:
- Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions
- Adapting to the impacts of climate change
- Conserving natural carbon sinks with a focus on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+)
- Conserving biological diversity
The projects look for innovative solutions to the challenges and develop new political, economic and regulatory approaches, as well as technological options and cooperation models. The solutions are meant to have impacts that go beyond the individual project and to be transferable.