Despite the importance of a global transition into a Green Growth (GG) paradigm, many developing countries are unable to independently undergo a green structural transformation without the support of Green Official Development Assistance (G-ODA). As such, this paper will address the lack of research on the descriptive drivers of G-ODA by elaborating on the relationship between the GG-levels of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee member countries and their G-ODA contributions. To this end, this paper will use a mixed methodology. Quantitative methods based on fixed-effect multi-variate regressions will identify ‘how’ GG affects G-ODA, while interview-based qualitative methods will be utilized to conduct a case study of the Republic of Korea (ROK), so as to ascertain ‘why’ GG affects G-ODA.

This paper presents six findings. First, GG shares a positive relationship with the total value of G-ODA. Second, GG possesses a positive relationship with the total value and percentage of multilateral G-ODA. Third, GG boasts a positive relationship with the total value of significant G-ODA. Fourth, there is insufficient data to claim that GG influences the bilateral G-ODA contributions of donors. Fifth, GG cannot be said to have a significant relationship with principal G-ODA. Sixth, there is not enough evidence to claim that GG significantly affects the objective-based commitments of G-ODA, including that of mitigation. Regardless of significance levels, GG had a greater influence on G-ODA than the traditional determinants of ODA in all models. This paper found that these relationships were primarily driven by strong political will, though the issue of capacity spillovers also played a complementary role.