Opinion: Deepen local voices for more climate finance accountability

The current surge in interest in climate financing presents an opportunity to rewrite funding mechanisms for African countries with strong foundations on radical accountability and local participation. As thousands meet in Nairobi, Kenya, for the first Africa Climate Summit, the Bridgetown Initiative will figure prominently in the conversations. It calls for structural reform of multilateral banking with regard to climate financing and sovereign debt management. Global voices must continue to advocate for accountability and civic inclusion to be embedded in the emerging climate financing opportunities. While it is pertinent for African countries to embrace climate-smart technologies and benefit from burgeoning climate investments — which reached $30 billion per year on the continent in 2020 — there is a need to engage in conversations on power imbalances that have rendered previous interventions ineffective and environmentally unsustainable. The Africa Climate Summit is an opportunity to harness the collective voice of my continent to champion the restructuring of the Bretton Woods institutions for a more efficient, inclusive, and equitable climate financing landscape. --— The status quo does not promote accountability Over the years, the World Bank and other international financial institutions have injected millions of dollars into countries to address challenges related to access to water, education, health and other socioeconomic issues. However, such interventions are either inadequate or ineffective to change the paradigm of the lowest-income countries and growing economies. Africa already needs $277 billion annually to fulfill its nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, by 2030. African governments are expected to receive support from finance vehicles such as Clean Technology Fund, PROGREEN, Green Climate Fund among others to fill some of the gap. Yet, we must acknowledge that current political systems cannot optimize these funds and financing to have the environmental, social, and economic development outcomes necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed, in our experience, investing money into weak procurement systems woven around a culture of patronage cannot impact societies positively due to high levels of inefficiencies involved. The World Bank and its allies have not done enough work to bake local vertical accountability into its work. Through their agreements, they have mostly left such responsibility to partner countries, leading to the potential of failing on accountability standards and expectations. Deepening local voices Conversations on expanding climate financing lack inclusivity. It is no longer enough to direct funds to global charitable organizations or direct investments to governments only. These conversations must actively involve community leaders and groups that face the highest risk of climate change impacts. This includes people residing in coastal areas prone to flooding or those who inhabit forested areas and have been the protectors of “earth’s lungs.” Groups like these need to be involved in broader conversations on how climate financing would benefit them. In the spirit of recent awakening on localization, there is a need to foster consensus through local voices and champions on how the people need to cope with climate change. The bulk of climate change risk management and adaptation funding should be diverse. National fiscal systems should incorporate rigorous measures to reinforce accountability. Organizations such as BudgIT, Action for Development and Empowerment, Accountability Lab and Connected Development continue to advocate for systemwide accountability across the African continent. For example, 9.2 billion Nigerian naira ($49.8 million) meant to be spent on clean cookstoves was wasted in corruption. For climate financing to be fully optimal, it requires the interrogation of the fiscal systems of partner countries, which must be nestled in a multistakeholder framework, exemplified by the Open Government Partnership. As funding is channeled to the government and private sector to scale climate change initiatives, civil society and other partners also need support to hold respective stakeholders accountable to ensure optimal delivery of services. There is a need for an accountability framework on green finance across all stakeholder ecosystems. The role of local voices through media and civil society in relation to climate financing needs to be accelerated. Radical transparency, accountability and a participatory framework must form the cornerstones of climate financing on the African continent. Accountability and local participation in the design of climate financing initiatives should no longer be an afterthought or a mere expectation from multilateral financing organizations. Multilateral organizations are at a pivotal moment to change their approach to supporting countries’ development efforts. Their approach must champion inclusive engagement, systemic accountability, and resonating approaches to deliver desired impact. While there are interests to extend climate financing rapidly, there is a need for a huge paradigm shift to pay attention to local climate voices. The Africa Climate Summit is an opportunity to harness the collective voice of my continent to champion the restructuring of the Bretton Woods institutions for a more efficient, inclusive, and equitable climate financing landscape.