The world, and developing countries in particular, urgently need more finance to address the climate crisis and its impacts. But more money alone won’t solve the problem. There must also be systems in place to ensure finance reaches the people and communities that need it most. Without effective mechanisms for transparency and accountability, there is also a heightened risk of corruption and mismanagement of resources earmarked for climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Globally, there is a lack of consistent data on where climate funds are flowing and who makes decisions on them. Fewer than 20 countries have climate budget tagging systems, and only a few have a clear definition for climate finance.

Moreover, while many countries have established public participation in climate-related decisions to an extent, too often these opportunities are late in the process or are not designed to be inclusive. They may also fail to close to the feedback loop with participants by showing how their input was considered in the final decision.

WRI, in partnership with Huairou Commission and SouthSouthNorth (SSN), launched the Green Accountability Platform to help address these issues. WRI received 132 proposals from civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico and Senegal focused on making climate finance and policymaking more transparent, inclusive and accountable. Five finalists were selected in each country (25 total) and $375,000 was awarded in each country.

“Green accountability” is about ensuring those who face the most risk from climate change have timely access to information, can influence decisions that impact them and make public authorities answer to them when commitments are not met.

The Green Accountability Platform provides strategic finance to CSOs to make climate finance governance for mitigation and adaptation more transparent, participatory and accountable. It offers grants, tools and shared learning and supports coalition building for civil society organizations working at the grassroots and national levels. The platform aims to improve the impact and equity of climate finance by supporting integration of community, citizen and CSO feedback into climate finance decision making. Learn more.

Launch event recording links:

Contacts:

 

Cover image by Angel Cibemba / WRI Africa