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. The platform will support organizations in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico and Senegal working to make climate finance and action more transparent, inclusive and accountable.

“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 civil society organizations (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.

WRI will lead implementation of the Green Accountability Platform. From May 20-June 14, 2024, WRI is accepting grant proposals from civil society organizations in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico and Senegal. At the end of this process, $370,000 will be disbursed across 4-6 grants to each country to implement over 12-14 months.

We welcome applications from organizations focused on the national, subnational and local levels. Eligibility criteria, application form and FAQ questions can be found on www.greenaccountabilitynow.org. WRI will hold additional information sessions for prospect applicants in:

Launch event recording links:

Contacts:

 

Cover image by Angel Cibemba / WRI Africa