Climate change measures must be made corruption proof, says II '
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ab e wf.1ther conclitiohs, not' )ng tJ.!at physical, ecQnomic. · and 'social access ti> food wdul~ be affected ne!l'ltively by! climate change as aglicul, rural production d~dines, " fog(tprtces rise. and 1 ' :<IS" · ingP.Ower decreases, .. '_ 1"The threats of ' , Iimate :' cblmge are more severe in " de!ie[opliJg c6untrie~, espe-" da,lly' _Nigeria due to ~ack of , ' adequate awareness, finance. pte" ,w.orKsnplp "",, ' oIilOinii<ffi ' ~~ techn,?logy. Many low, mcome countries are located · in /tropiCal and subrropical ,regions,Which are partlailarly
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A S governments prepare to Ilspend up to USStoo billion annually by 2020 to limit cli!'late change and prepare for Its Impact, Transparency Intemadonal (Tl) warns of the corruption risks of climate finance flowing through new. untested channels and recom: mends strengthening governance systems to tackle them, The Global Corruption Report dirnate Change sets outpractical guidelines to prevent corruption undennining climate change measures and calls on governments, international organisations, businesses and civil SOCiety to ensure good governance in climate policy. '1he urgent need to respond to 'climate change needs to be enhanced by transparency and accountabiUty. OVersight must be built into an climate-related initiatives from the start," said Huguette Labell'e, chair of Transparency International. "Good governance now will help ensure the success of the impact of climate change_poliCY, and funcling." • , Bangladesh is at the frontline In the battle to combat climate change, How Bangladesh manages climate governance and ensures transparency and accountability in the use of climate change funds can provide lessons for governments
The new report shows urgency of ensuring good governance in climate policy and recommends greater public participation, access to information and accountability to make climate governance more effective. This would limit the potential for conflicts of interest in decision-making and the negative effects that lobbying and special interests can play in setting climate policy and civil society around the world The recommendations in the report come at a critical time," says Iftekhar Zaman, director of executive Transparency International Bangladesh, Under global clirriate agreements, substantial new funding from governments and multilateral agencies will be made available to finance mitigation of climate change, such as renewable energy projects like wind farms or solar power plants, and adaptation to it, such as constructions of sea w.aJls, irrigations systems and c1isaster-ready housing, None of the 20 countries expected to be most affected by climate change - where much of this money will be spent scores higher than 3,6 on the Tl's Corruption Perceptions Index, in which 0 inclicates perception of extremely corrupt and \0 is vel}' clean, Governments must ensure
transparent oversight of how climate change -funds are spent, which can be enhanced by civil sodety mOnitoring. The report combines analysis from more than 50 leacling climate change experts from 20 countries tackling a wide range of issues inclucling: - the politics of climate change and accountability of funcling institutions - the role of the plivate sector , the integlity of carbon markets - the response to climate change impacts in developing ~ountries (climate-proofing Infrastructure, prepaling for climate migration and improving disaster management) - forestry governance The report recommends greater public participation, access to information and accountability to make climate governance more effective. This would limit the potential
for conllicts of interest in decision-making and the negative effects that lobbying and spedal interests can play in setting climate policy. The report warns of the risk of a green resource curse. New technologies needed to replace IossiJ fuels often require natural resources. It is important that industries explOiting these resources are transparent and publicly disclose payments to governments so that citizens can ensure the proceeds are used for their benefit Similarly, governments that seU land for bicrfuel cultivation, estimated to be \0 per centof transport fuels in many of the world's leading economies by 2030, must allow for public partidpation and oversight so that local communities' land lights are respected. USS28 billion of climate financing is expected to flow annually to countries with large tropical forests to discourage deforestation and preserve this form of natural carbon ,storage: illegal lOgging" worth more than uSSto billion a year, is already fuelled by corruption of customs and land management autholities. The report highlights that some governments. have already ClaImed credJts for fictitious forest plantation projects.
Degraded coastal wetlands contribute to climate change CtJnselVatioll _
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RAINAGE and degradation of coastal ~ emit significant amounts of GIlbon dioxide direalytotheatmosphereand lead to d..:reased caIbon sequestration,
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The report, w1itten in partnership with the World Bank, International Union for Conservation of Nature (ruCN) and wetland specialists ESA PWA, caUs for coastal wetlands ••tq.l>e protected and incentives . ror avoicling their degradation and improving their restoration to be induced into carbon emission reduction strategies and in dimate negotiations. "For the first time we are get-
Of the 15 coastal deltas studied for the report, seven were found to have released more than 500 million tonnes of C02 each since the wetlands were drained mos!1y in the past 100 years. By comparison, ' MeXICO's carbon dioxide emissions for 2007 were just over 470 million tonnes. ting a sense that greenhouse gas losses from drained and degraded coastal . wetlands may be g10balJysignificant and that drained organiC-rich soils continuously release carbon for decades," says Stephen Crooks, Climate Change Services Director at ESA PWA the consulting firm which looked at 15 coastal deltas
worldwide for the report. "Emissions will increase with ongoing wetland losses." The report hiJdilights the current rates of aegradation and loss of coastal wetlands which are up to four times those of tropical forests. Destruction of about20 per cent of the world's mangroves, an area of 35,000' square kilometres in the last 25
years or four times the New York City metropolitan area, has led to the release of centuries of accumulated carbon. This has also disrurbed natural protection against storm surges and other weather events. 'We must work with nature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also restore the ability of nature to take carbon out of circulation," says Carl Gustaf Lunclin, Director of the ruCN Global Marine and Polar Programme. "C02 emissions from lost or degraded coastal wetlands are suffidently large to warrant amendment of national and international climate change policy frameworks to promote restoration."
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practices to _: management a~pption of new vatleties; , crqps, and animal breeds , ', more appropriate to future cli· .~te conditi0!lS". , ..To\tJ.!e.group, ~e ,:,arious com, 'muruties ofNlgena, esPecially in the lkorodu, Epe, or &dagry , ar~as of Lagos, agrichItural , pi'Qduction is both a soUrce of , 'foqd and a source of mcome. ,'This Work,shop WllI th~refore , s~tOoiltlinearangebfpra.c , tic~s, approaches and tools
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,,el!e~ Wfl,e ther food;beyerage, orfor industrial crops, or : : fo~ liveStock, poultry, Ii.Sh ot ( ~~~~~~;~i - fOf!'st products - are' being "~W.~~i:IJ,,'ii?~~3"~~ by climate change \,; , . 'unpacted Ac~ordirig to Simire. [ong · terfti Changes in weat!\er COIl' ; c:liti0ns have serious iJ;npacts
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