A knowledge report has been published following the 2nd Symposium on Supranational Responses to Corruption, which was held at the London School of Economics in May 2024.
Organized by the Green Climate Fund, the World Bank, and Transparency International, the symposium brought together 16 expert papers and practitioners from leading institutions, including the World Bank, Green Climate Fund, Transparency International, LSE Grantham Institute, Columbia's Sabin Center, Norges Bank Investment Management, and USAID, to bridge the critical gap between climate and integrity practitioners. For too long, these communities have worked in silos, even though corruption poses a fundamental threat to achieving our climate goals.
Key Challenges Identified:
The report reveals how integrity risks threaten climate finance across multiple levels:
- Systemic Vulnerabilities: Climate finance's complexity and fragmentation create accountability gaps, while high-risk sectors (forestry, energy, construction) face endemic corruption due to weak oversight.
- Market Failures: The largely unregulated Voluntary Carbon Market suffers from greenwashing, inflated emissions claims, and financial misappropriation.
- Governance Gaps: From siloed institutional operations to weak national anti-corruption frameworks and fragmented international coordination, governance structures aren't keeping pace with climate finance growth.
- The False Speed-Integrity Trade-off: The urgency to deploy climate finance often conflicts with robust governance, yet strong integrity measures actually enable sustainable speed by preventing costly failures and maintaining public trust.
These challenges highlight the need for coordinated, supranational responses to safeguard climate finance and ensure its effectiveness.
Roadmap: To address these challenges, the symposium outlined eight supranational responses across three key areas:
Strengthening Global Frameworks:
- International coordination between UN instruments (UNCAC, UNTOC, UNFCCC)
- Enhanced role for UNFCCC COP in climate finance integrity
Institutional Reform:
- Integration of integrity and accountability mechanisms at MDBs
- Beneficial ownership transparency and international task force coordination
- Streamlined participatory processes balancing speed with governance
Market and Private Sector Action:
- Proactive integrity management across corporations and donors
- Safeguarding the Voluntary Carbon Market
- Reparations mechanisms for integrity failures
This symposium was a starting point for essential dialogue. The 3rd symposium for 2026 is being planned to continue this critical work. IIU is planning to continue with the symposium in line with its mandate and future work programme.
We thank our co-organizers, the World Bank and Transparency International, and all partners who made this vital collaboration possible. The climate crisis demands urgent action built on a foundation of integrity.
Organizing Committee
- Chairperson Dr. Alexandra Manea, OSD, World Bank
- Felipe Rocha dos Santos, SBS, World Bank
- Brice Böhmer, Climate Lead, Transparency International
- Albert Lihalakha, IIU, Green Climate Fund
Partners
- London School of Economics - Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment: Dr. Joana Setzer, Assistant Professorial Research Fellow
- Columbia University - Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: Michael Burger, Executive Director
- Norges Bank Investment Management: Matthew Genasci, Senior Investment Stewardship Manager, Corporate Governance
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Anti-Corruption Center: Cristine Geers, Senior Innovation Advisor
Advisor
- Dr. Matthew Stephenson, Harvard University Law School
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