Projects in the ‘climate-friendly economy’ category assist partner countries in establishing an economic structure that avoids emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases as far as possible. To this end the ICI promotes emissions reduction activities and actions to improve energy efficiency and expand renewable energies, both through investment-related measures and through know-how transfer and policy advice in the partner country. Furthermore, ICI projects make an important contribution to the International Partnership on Mitigation and MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) launched by South Africa, South Korea and Germany in 2010.  

In the ‘adaptation to climate change’ category the ICI assists selected countries and regions that are especially vulnerable to climate change in boosting their capacity to adapt to its impacts. The focus of the support is on ecosystem-based adaptation. Besides this, ICI projects are involved in formulating national adaptation strategies and helping to implement them. In addition they develop strategies and instruments for risk management in relation to climate change impacts.

Projects in the ‘carbon reservoirs/REDD+’ category support the preservation and sustainable use of carbon reservoirs, especially forests and other ecosystems such as wetlands. They contribute to the development of the REDD+ mechanism under the Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. In addition the ICI also supports measures for direct or indirect carbon sequestration by protecting ecosystems not covered by the REDD+ mechanism, such as boreal forests, marshes and savannahs. Furthermore, ICI projects address the causes of deforestation, for example by promoting sustainable land use. 

In the ‘biodiversity’ category the ICI promotes achievement of the targets of the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and of the CBD’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas. Through the projects BMU assists partner countries in such matters as upgrading national or regional protected area systems, especially marine and coastal reserves. The projects aim to mainstream biodiversity in national planning processes, develop strategies and action plans to conserve biodiversity, apply The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study nationally and build the capacity of the future Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).