Redd+ and Mckinsey & Company

REDD+ AND MCKINSEY & COMPANY

Thank you for your e-mail of 30 July to the National Audit Office. You requested information relating to the work the National Audit Office has carried out in 1) examining REDD+ and its cost effectiveness and 2) looking at the relationships between McKinsey, beneficiary countries, forestry/deforesting companies, UK funding and UN funds and programmes. This request was considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and I understand they replied to you on 25 August saying that I would reply to you substantively, because I am responsible for our value for money work in relation to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

In your email you drew attention to literature raising concerns that the advice being offered by McKinsey & Company to developing nations and emerging economies as part of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative could result in accelerated deforestation. Over the last year, we have prepared two briefings for House of Commons Select Committees on climate change financing. These briefings have set out the climate change financing landscape, including REDD+, but have not evaluated its cost effectiveness and have not addressed the relationship between McKinsey and REDD+.

- The briefing that we prepared for the Energy and Climate Change Committee supported their inquiry into the international climate change negotiations at Cancun in 2010, and I have attached a copy of the briefing we provided.

- The briefing that we provided the Environmental Audit Committee on aid and the environment informed their inquiry on the impact of UK overseas aid on environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation .We do not currently have work underway on climate change finance, but we will be keeping an eye on developments and the case for further audit work in this area.

You asked about our role as auditor of the UN. We are currently one of three national audit bodies appointed to undertake the audit of the UN, alongside South Africa and China. Our audit responsibility is for such areas as: the United Nations, including Geneva, Nairobi, New York and Vienna; UN High Commissioner for Refugeesand five UN Peacekeeping missions. We have responsibility for the audit of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which collaborates with the UN Development Programme, on the REDD programme, but we do not have responsibility for the audit of the UN Development Programme. Our audit of the UNEP during the current biennium, will involve core financial audit work and a review of UNEP’s new strategic approach, including the extent to which the new approach is helping UNEP improve performance. The audit team do not expect this work to involve examining in any detail UNEP’s collaboration in the UN REDD Programme.

I hope that this reply is helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Jill Goldsmith,

Director Energy, Climate Change and Sustainability Value for Money studies

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