TOWARDS JUST AND EFFECTIVE CLIMATE FINANCE: DEVELOPING PRIORITIES AND PRINCIPLES

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) proposes a normative framework for the governance of climate finance in developing countries. Based on a 2010 civil society meeting in Cape Town and research across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the document outlines priorities and principles to ensure that climate funding is just, effective, and driven by local developmental needs rather than donor priorities.

• Climate policies in developing countries should be driven by local environmental and developmental needs rather than the availability of external funding or donor-set priorities. The document advocates for a bottom-up approach where policy is informed by local experiences, as the impacts of climate change are most profoundly felt at the local level.
• There is a critical need to separate public and private funding sources for climate finance. The brief warns that private funding is often driven by profit rather than social or environmental needs, and that public funding is frequently used merely to facilitate private investment.
• The document highlights failures in technology transfer and the integrity of emission-reduction projects. It calls for unencumbered access to renewable energy technologies and the implementation of rigorous assessment criteria to prevent the abuse of terms like 'additionality' in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for private gain.
• Effective climate finance requires improved governance and accountability within implementing institutions. This includes coordinating policies to avoid duplication of efforts and establishing 'downward accountability' to affected communities through full disclosure, participation, and free, prior, and informed consent.
• Climate finance must prioritize the rights and livelihoods of indigenous and local communities to avoid becoming a source of conflict. The brief notes that some projects have caused instability by displacing communities in pursuit of environmental actions that ignore local realities.

APA

Whande, W., & Reddy, T. (2011). TOWARDS JUST AND EFFECTIVE CLIMATE FINANCE: DEVELOPING PRIORITIES AND PRINCIPLES. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/No26June2011.pdf

Chicago

Whande, Webster, and Trusha Reddy. TOWARDS JUST AND EFFECTIVE CLIMATE FINANCE: DEVELOPING PRIORITIES AND PRINCIPLES. Institute for Security Studies, 2011. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/No26June2011.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Whande |first1=Webster |last2=Reddy |first2=Trusha |title=TOWARDS JUST AND EFFECTIVE CLIMATE FINANCE: DEVELOPING PRIORITIES AND PRINCIPLES |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=June 2011 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/No26June2011.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{whande2011towards, author = {Whande, Webster and Reddy, Trusha}, title = {{TOWARDS JUST AND EFFECTIVE CLIMATE FINANCE: DEVELOPING PRIORITIES AND PRINCIPLES}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2011}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/No26June2011.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }