Democratizing climate finance governance and the public funding of climate action

Bibliographic Data

ID6254357
AuthorsLiane Schalatek (corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume19
Issue5
Pages951-973
Publication date2012-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDemocratization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13510347.2012.709690
OpenAlexW2022449761
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited2

Addressing climate change – its causes, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and its worst impacts on some of the poorest countries and societal groups – requires many billions of dollars. A significant portion of short- and long-term finance will have to come from industrialized countries in the form of public money transferred to developing countries, for private sector investment and carbon markets are unlikely to be sufficient. This is not only an international treaty obligation of the historic polluter countries, but also a matter of upholding human rights. However, nothing less than the democratization of climate finance governance is needed. Democratic core principles such as accountability, transparency and public and gender-equitable participation in decision-making must guide the mobilization of public climate funding, and the governance and administration of these resources and their allocation to recipients. Citizens in contributing and recipient countries have a right and an obligation to be informed about and involved in how public money is utilized to address climate change. Only then will concrete mitigation and adaptation action be effective, efficient and equitable. Keywords: climate change financinghuman rightsinternational environmental lawtransparencyaccountabilitygender equity Notes Governance here is understood to refer to the process of decision-making and the process by which those decisions are implemented. This refers to the notion of global citizenship motivated by local and global interests and concern for fellow human beings, human rights and human dignity. When translated into participatory action, the concept of global citizenship entails a responsibility to reduce international social and economic inequality and avoid actions that could compromise another individuals' wellbeing or contribute to environmental degradation. Newig and Fritsch, 'Environmental Governance', 210. Public climate finance is understood as funds deriving from governments or agencies and institutions acting on their behalf, including money from national budgets and innovative international financing sources such as auctioning of emissions permits, taxes or levies meant to raise funding for government purposes. On different country groups in the UNFCCC and their respective obligations, see http://unfccc.int/parties_and_observers/items/2704.php. Annex II countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Economic Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States. Liberal democracy is generally understood to mean a form of government which includes such elements as political pluralism; equality before the law; the right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances; due process; civil liberties; human rights; and elements of civil society outside the government as well as judicial independence and separation of powers. The term multilateral development banks (MDBs) typically refers to the World Bank Group and the four Regional Development Banks. While the UNFCCC is legally not enforceable without a sanctioning mechanism, the signatory states are bound by the customary legal obligation to give effect to the terms of the convention as an international environmental treaty in good faith. The G8 Summit in Japan in 2008 instructed the World Bank to set up a portfolio of several Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), and allocated US$ 6.5 billion of public finance. UN ESCAP, 'What is Good Governance?' Schalatek, A Matter of Principle(s), 76–8. See Schalatek, A Matter of Principle(s). In early 2009 the Heinrich Böll Foundation and London's Overseas Development Institute initiated a public website that tracks financing flows from pledge to project for a set of dedicated climate financing instruments (Climate Funds Update, www.climatefundsupdate.org). Annex II Parties consist of the industrialized countries that were members of the OECD in 1992. For a list of countries, see note 5. Project Catalyst, 'Making Fast'; Oxfam 'Climate Finance'. UNFCCC 'Copenhagen Accord'; UNFCC 'Cancun Agreements'. The Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund became operational in 2009 to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction credits which can be traded and sold. They are used by industrialized countries to meet part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. See Transitional Committee, 'Report'; Schalatek, 'Sub-optimal'. World Bank, State and Trend, 9. See Ruggie, 'Keynote Address'. See Bird, Brown, and Schalatek, 'Design Challenges'. Schalatek, 'Sub-optimal'. Schalatek, A Matter of Principle(s), 28 Gibney and Skogly, Universal Human Rights. Rathgeber, Climate Change; Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Climate Change; Robinson and Miller, 'Expanding Global'. Kämpf and Würth, 'Mehr'. The Right to Food is included in several human rights covenants and conventions, among them the ICESCR (Article 11.1), as well as in provisions concerning standards of living in CEDAW (Article 14.2.h). IFPRI, Climate Change. Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Climate Change, 26–35. FAO, The Right to Food. Lambrou and Rossi, Gender and Equity, 19. Article 14 of CEDAW establishes the adaptation of appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against rural women. UN Women Watch, 'Fact Sheet'. UNFCCC, 'Copenhagen Accord', para. 8. Burnell, Climate Change. UNOHCHR, 'Further Measures'. For the full text of the Rio Declaration, see http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm. The full text of Agenda 21 is available at http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/. For an example see Calland and Nakhooda, 'Participatory Democracy'. Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Climate Change, 45f. Burnell, Climate Change, 33. See http://www.oecd.org/development/aideffectiveness/43911948.pdf (accessed August 29, 2012). McGee and Gaventa, Review of Impact, 20. Most prominent are the efforts of the World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/publication/summary-of-developed-country-fast-start-climate-finance-pledges) and Climate Funds Update (http://www.climatefundsupdate.org). Schalatek, A Matter of Principle(s). http://unfccc.int/cooperation_support/financial_mechanism/finance_portal/items/5824.php. See UNFCCC, 'Green Climate Fund'. For an overview of these funds and their governance structures, see www.climatefundsupdate.org. Sharma, 'The Reformed Financial'. The discourses in the Transitional Committee between developed and developing country representatives reflected this existing distrust. Schalatek, 'Sub-optimal'. Ballesteros et al., Power. See Schalatek, A Matter of Principle(s), 78–80. Bird and Cabral, 'Changing Aid Delivery'. Schalatek, Matter of Principle(s), 58–9. McNeil and Mumvuma, Demanding Good Governance. Schalatek, Matter of Principle(s), 59–60. The Heinrich Böll Foundation Southern Africa organized such a capacity-building seminar on climate finance for the Pan-African Parliament in July 2011. Brown, Bird, and Schalatek, 'Direct Access'. See Mitchell, Anderson and Huq, Principles. Schalatek, 'Geschlechtergleichheit'; Röhr, 'Gender into Climate Policy'. United Nations Population Fund and WEDO, Climate Change Connections; UNDP, Resource Guide. See Schalatek, Gender and Climate Finance. Schalatek and Nakhooda, 'Gender and Climate Finance'. UN-NGLS, 'Closing the Gaps'. On gender-responsive budgeting see http://www.gender-budgets.org. Schalatek, A Matter of Principle(s), 86–9. Mitchell, Anderson and Huq, Principles; Ballesteros et al., Power

Accountability · Business · Climate Finance · Corporate governance · Democracy · Democratization · Developing country · Economic growth · Economics · Obligation · Political science · Politics · Transparency (behavior · Treaty · Climate Change Policy and Economics · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Law · Public Administration · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance · Finance

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