Rethinking Governance in International Climate Finance

The document examines the governance of international climate finance, contrasting it with the 'institutionalist turn' of development finance. It argues that while development finance reforms failed because global organizations ignored informal power dynamics in recipient countries, climate finance is governed by different principles—restitution, recipient control of allocation, and support for mitigation and adaptation—which enable a shift in authority toward recipient nations.

• Governance reforms tied to development finance were largely ineffective because global organizations failed to understand the reality of power, particularly informal power, within recipient countries.
• Climate finance is distinguished from development finance by three core principles: it is viewed as restitution rather than aid, recipient countries should manage resource allocation, and funding must support adaptation and mitigation.
• The application of these new principles has resulted in a transfer of decision-making power from the funding contributors to the countries receiving the finance.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Rethinking Governance in International Climate Finance. https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-governance-in-international-climate-finance/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Rethinking Governance in International Climate Finance. 2022. https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-governance-in-international-climate-finance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Rethinking Governance in International Climate Finance |date=31 August 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-governance-in-international-climate-finance/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022rethinking, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Rethinking Governance in International Climate Finance}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-governance-in-international-climate-finance/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }