Surfacing perceptions of equity in the finance themes of the Global Stocktake
Equity and justice are central to our collective work to stop dangerous climate change and to adapt to the climate disruption that has already arrived. This has been broadly acknowledged in the Paris Agreement and in the design of the Global Stocktake, the mechanism through which progress is measured toward achieving the goals of the Agreement.
This report explores how a set of stakeholders perceive equity and justice in the current climate finance system. Stakeholders agree that the current climate finance system is an illustration of unfairness and inequity, and that equity and fairness cannot be achieved in the current climate finance system.
Stakeholders outline barriers to achieving equity and fairness, including the absence of benchmark and accountability, power play, and double standards. These barriers have resulted in both distrust and a settling for what is ‘fair and equitable enough’. In part, this is because equity in climate finance is connected to and affected by other agendas, norms, and governance systems external to the GST and UNFCCC mandates.
The Finance Working Group of the independent Global Stocktake (iGST) will expand this work through a set of deep dives, exploring a set of questions informed by this initial research:
- Can the Global Stocktake include principles and benchmarks of equity and fairness to govern climate finance? What does the process of creating these benchmarks entail, and how much accountability can benchmarks provide — and for whom?
- Addressing distrust: What is needed in the Global Stocktake for stakeholders to trust the climate finance system?
- How should the Global Stocktake assess if modalities of access are equitable and fair in light of the many different perceptions of inequity, injustice and unfairness?
- How can the Global Stocktake help ensure that climate finance is defined and operationalised in a way that is equitable and fair, both now and in the future?
