In 2025, the OECD’s preliminary figures revealed a historic contraction in official development assistance: ODA provided by DAC members fell to USD 174.3 billion, a 23.1% decrease in real terms compared with 2024. Bilateral aid, humanitarian assistance, and multilateral contributions are all in decline, directly affecting the capacity to act in several key areas of the ecological transition, including adaptation, resilience, water, agriculture, and biodiversity. Beyond the budgetary shock itself, this evolution also raises broader questions about the state of multilateralism and the trade-offs now being imposed on all actors.
Based on these data, this roundtable will discuss the concrete consequences of this shift for international institutions, NGOs, and partner countries.
The discussion will bring together:
- H.E. Maurice Kouakou Bandaman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to France, who will provide the perspective of a partner country directly affected by the current situation;
- Eva Beuselinck, Head of the Policies and Networks Division in the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate, who will shed light on the major trends shaping international aid;
- Alisée Pornet, Adviser to the Management of the Agence française de développement (AFD) and co-author of Geopolitics of Development, who will address the evolution and diversification of development finance instruments;
- Gaëtane Wicquart, 3ZERO Director at Acted, who will discuss the operational consequences for field-based actors.
Organised by the United Nations University (UNU) Paris Office and moderated by its Director, Sabine Becker-Thierry, the discussion will bring together institutional analysis, field experience, and financing perspectives to better understand what the decline in aid is changing for international cooperation and the ecological transition.