Climate Accountability: Beyond Transparency & Public Participation

Who makes sure climate investments reach the people and places that need them most? As climate disasters intensify, the need for effective climate investments grows increasingly urgent - and with it the need for strong public oversight, or ‘social accountability’.

In a recent blog on Strengthening Public Oversight in Climate Initiatives, Transparency International emphasised the crucial role of individuals and communities in holding duty-bearers accountable for climate promises, actions, and results. Whether in amplifying the impact of climate initiatives, ensuring climate finance reaches those who need it most, or building public trust and legitimacy in climate action, we stressed that public oversight is far more than just a ‘nice to have’ in our collective efforts to address the climate crisis.

To support this, we shared that Transparency International is developing a resource guide outlining how civil society can lead and support social accountability initiatives, and invited individuals and organisations to contribute evidence or share experiences through a short questionnaire.

Over 25 submissions from around the world described diverse experiences, approaches, and tools that strengthen the role of individuals and communities in climate-related initiatives. These experiences broadly fell into three categories:

• Access to information: Several organisations use formal Right to Information requests or petitions for documentation to inform communities about climate-related decisions, resources, procurement, programmes, and outcomes.

• Public participation: Many submissions highlighted efforts to ensure community and civil society voices are included in climate decision making, including public meetings, dialogues with officials, and public consultations.

• Social accountability: Some organisations reported using social accountability approaches and tools such as social audits and community monitoring mechanisms, including community scorecards.

However, while many organisations reported using a combination of tools and approaches in complementary and strategic ways, the submissions showed greater reliance on access to information and participation, with limited evidence that these efforts translated into meaningful social accountability.

These findings reinforce the need to go beyond transparency and public participation toward meaningful accountability, where people can decisively hold power to account. Simply accessing information and using it to engage decision-makers is unlikely to produce transformative outcomes for individuals and communities, particularly those most vulnerable to climate impacts. This risk is amplified in climate governance, where complex power asymmetries and incentives are at play.

Where accountability is lacking, government action often remains at the discretion of decision makers. This is why we support global calls, and efforts, to bolster transparency and public participation with robust social accountability, strengthening the accountability ecosystem for climate resources, actions, and impacts.

Transparency International’s Resource Guide for Social Accountability in Climate Initiatives will provide civic actors with insights, approaches, and tools to design and implement integrated strategies combining access to information, public participation, and social accountability. Focusing on strengthening the demand for more open climate governance, this resource will soon be available on Transparency International’s anti-corruption helpdesk.

At the same time, Transparency International is leading an initiative to strengthen meaningful and inclusive public participation and oversight in climate finance processes, focusing on the supply-side of climate governance. This initiative is premised on the understanding that increased space for participation, alongside meaningful public oversight, stands to improve access to climate finance, increase public trust in climate finance processes, promote transparency and integrity, include under-recognized communities, and enhance the efficiency of climate-financed projects, including by reducing opportunities for corruption.

To support this, we are developing a simple, multi-dimensional checklist for civic actors to evaluate and benchmark public participation and oversight at any institution receiving climate finance and, to engage in constructive advocacy to address identified gaps. The checklist and corresponding advocacy and reform efforts will be piloted at select climate finance institutions in Honduras, Nepal, and Zambia over the next year.

We are confident that these complementary resources will significantly boost efforts to advance meaningful and inclusive public engagement and oversight in climate initiatives. As we work to ensure climate action and finance serve people and the planet, we invite you to join us on this journey; whether it is engaging in discussions, supporting initiatives, or using our guides and resources, tackling the climate crisis must be a collective effort.