As an idea, REDD+ proved extremely popular, in part because it was sufficiently broad to accommodate different interests. But the concept has evolved, driven by the absence of a new international climate agreement, strong business as usual interests, a large number of actors with diverging agendas, and experience in the field.

Major changes in REDD+ include the following: i) the focus has moved from carbon only to multiple objectives; ii) the policies adopted so far are not only, or even primarily, directed at achieving result-based payments; iii) the subnational and project, rather than national, levels are receiving a large share of resources; and iv) the funding to date is mainly from international aid and the national budgets of REDD+ countries, and not from carbon markets.