Political Economy of International Climate Finance - Coursework Example

Political Economy of International Climate Finance Climate finance is the financing for adaptive programs and projects as well as climate change mitigation by the international, regional and national bodies (Amoore, 2002). They include specific climatic financial aid and support mechanisms for adaptation and mitigation activities to enable and spur the transition towards climate-resilient development and growth, as well as low-carbon achievement through economic development and capacity building. Climate finance is used narrowly to refer to the public resource transfer to the developing from the developed countries (Sercu, 2009). The transfer is in the light of the UN Climate Convection duties of provision of additional and new funding. In a wider sense, climate finance refers to the financial flows that relate to climate adaptation and mitigation (Haites, 2013). Climate supportive funds are sourced from private, public as well as private-public sectors. The finances can be channelled to the public via various financial and organizational intermediaries, development cooperation agencies, private sectors and non-governmental organisations. Economic climate funds may flow from developed to developed states, developing to developing or even drawn up to developing countries (Case & Segger, 2010). There exists several initiatives monitor that track and control the international climate finance flow. Climate Funds Update (CFU) is a joint project of the Heinrich Boll Foundation and the Overseas Development Institute. CFU researchers suggest the need for monitoring climate finance to make the flows more efficient. The researchers in particular suggest that climate finance funds can do best if their reporting data is synchronized by consistency reporting of their financial figures. Detailed information concerning the implementation of programmes and projects with time should also be provided. Climate and Development Knowledge Network ensures that there is a developing nations’ benefit as a result of climate finance (Michaelowa, 2012). There exist a relatively large number of cases of initiatives being implemented to help developing countries in the management of the respective response to change in climate. The control is made possible through policy-relevant analysis and information provision (Case & Segger, 2010). Overseas Development Institute researchers have tracked the flow of the international climate finance. The aim is to aid effectiveness of climatic finances as well as national delivery of the climate finance and also at the sharing platform of knowledge (Saddaiah, 2009). The researchers’ findings suggest that early investments in regional and country centres of financial policy implementation develop a robust climatic change. Significant financial aid is required so as to facilitate as well as assist the developing countries inadequate dealing with climate change. The largest supportive contributor of the climate finance funds is the European Union (EU). The contributed funds are channelled to developing countries as well as to the Global biggest aid donor (Stewart, R. 2009). EU is still providing climate finance support to vulnerable developing countries. The developing countries include; the least developed countries, Small growing islands countries as well as Africa at large. The funds are mainly aimed at adaptation to consequences of change in climate. For a relatively long time, the developed countries pledged to manage and mobilize a climatic financial fund of up to USD 100 billion per year as for by the year 2020. EU remains committed to the above goal. The money comes from a wide and dynamic variety of financial source. The utilisation of the financial aids depends primarily on transparency and the mitigation action by the developing countries (Stewart, 2009). Climate money has a diversified collection of goals. The funds can either be meant for clean transport, renewable energy, reforestation projects as well as the carbon market. Climatic care invests climatic change adaptive measures such as irrigation systems, flood defensive wall and emergency shelters (Haites, 2013). The greatest ally to the achievement of the climate finance connected to power and politics. The monitors of the funds have the ultimate control over the funds. In most developing countries, the political leaders have the final word concerning all the decisions needed by the state. The general public in these countries has got the tendency of trusting their leaders to the extent that they can even offer their life for their sake. The practice has been the mother of all the challenging problems in the developing world countries. Giving an illustration of Africa at large, the most significant percentage of its population is fanatical. They judge, relate and even make decisions as per the political leader opinion. Thus, in most cases, they believe that the power is the noisy political type in that, they choose leaders with excellent stories though fake promises (Cline, 2010). Ability to perform is never the first consideration when choosing a leader. As a result, noise makers end up being in the government. The fanatical mindset results in silencing of the general public, they end up having no opinion on their performance. Instead, the public blindly follow their political leaders’ shallow mind. Developing countries are the home of all evils such as corruption, ethnicity and nepotism. Ethnicity is the state of having favour and concern to the people whom an individual have a common tribal or ethnic background. Nepotism is the act of having favour towards the people who are related by blood. Corruption is the diversion of the primary purpose of an individual resource to a personal benefit based use. Most persons in the developing countries are tribal and base their decisions and favours as per the respective ethnic groups (Stewart, 2009). Tribalism brings out hatred, disunity that results in the lack of harmony. This practise is common both to the citizens and even to their political leaders. Being fanatical results to the birth of all evils that are directed to the contrary party by most individuals. In response, powerful individual and politicians indulge in corrupt acts in favour of their close relatives. Thus, the personnel with the mandate of monitoring the climate funds divert the funds to their private accounts instead. Some of the funds are used for financing the projects of the individuals with a common interest. More so, preference to the blood related personnel is also practiced. Thus, climate finance ends up financing projects that are far away from the defined project line by the fund providers. Instead of the local community and the general public benefiting, the funds help self-centred individuals (Stewart, 2009) The public lack information and knowledge concerning their rights in relation to the climate financing funds (Haggard, 2000). The highest group of people have no knowledge of even the existence climate finance funds. The bodies in charge of the utilization and allocation of the climate finance funds take no initiative in enlightening the public. In return, the societies in the developing countries remain in the darkness. Most of the leaders of the respective countries are concerned with their personal welfare and not at all for the well-being of the community as a whole. Most of the leaders in developing countries are political. The selection of funds mobilizers is based on the political basis. Thus, competency and skills are never considered. The required information by the general public is not even available to the funds’ managers (Michaelowa, 2012). In the target countries, the local communities are never involved in decision making on how to spend the funds. Decision making in most of the developing countries is centralised (Cohen, 2008). Thus, the critical decisions are made by the top management. The funds’ purpose is the support of general public and community-based projects. The main decisions concerning the allocation of the fund should mostly be made by the local community members. The average economy citizens are the largest fraction of a given states’ population. Every decision made if of high concern for the entire welfare of the whole community (Haites, 2013). There is no an active or an independent body monitoring the work done by the funds. Lack of effective supervision results to lack of professional assessment and tests of the achievement of the climate funds, as a result, destructive activities are still carried out (Kennedy & Southwick, 2008). The allocated funds end up being misused with no question concerning the utilization. The fact is simply because that the society has no speech regarding the utilisation of any resource. The monitoring bodies and committees join hands with the management to miscellaneously waste the funds for their benefits. For the sake of clean records, the regulators manipulate the files to hide their heinous acts. The present bodies lack independent decisions as their decisions are influenced by the leaders (Cline, 2010). There are no explicit rules stating who should be held responsible in case a fraud or corruption occurs. The rules of the state concerning the management of climate finance funds are at sometimes absent in some of the states (Mansfield & Milner, 2012). Most of the present regulation and rules are not clear thus the implementation is ineffective. Responsibility of the funds is not assigned to anyone. Thus, the management may utilize the funds without any care or consideration of the legal implication of their act (Michaelowa, 2012). The present anticorruption bodies’ decisions are not independent. As a result, the Societies in developing countries referred to as a man eat man. The individuals in power use their powers to manipulate the various results without the consideration of the common citizens’ welfare. The key aim of most people in power is the well-being of their welfare. The state should look for the promotion of humanity (Haites, 2013). Staffs get kickbacks from investing in some projects over others. Some of the intended projects are favoured by the public as well as the authority over other projects. The act leads to the implementation of and funding repetitive projects. The primary aim of the funds is not entirely tapped. The funds are at sometimes not enough to meet the intended plans and projects. The allocated funds per state and even as per the project are sometimes less. The decline of the funds occurs when the actual cost needed exceeds the budgeted fund. The government should make more accurate budgeting during the allocation of the funds (Shemirani, 2011). The budgeting can be made possible with the help of the past projects, financial trends and factors such as inflation. Precautionary funds should also be set aside for contingent occurrences that may have adverse effects on the projects (Haites, 2013). Finance practising, legal and educational institutions influence the overall application and utilisation of the international climate finance (Bush, 2012). Some of the institutions based factors include information, accessibility of the financial institutions. Fear by the local community of the procedures of access to funds to the schools. Cost of accessing the systems is relatively high to the public. Legal proceedings are also complicated. The factors are extensively illustrated below; Information concerning the financial institutions managing the climate finance funds is unavailable to the public. Research shows that, about 38 percent of the entire population in developing countries are aware of the existence of the financial institutions. The above illustration shows that the fraction of the population that don’t even have a clue of the existence of the systems is above average (Cline, 2010). Educational establishments relating to the financial education lack extensive training. Most of the economic and community studies school base their practices on theoretical past theories. Thus, the present application of the current economic concerns is not taken into consideration. The quality of the professional studies is not entirely reflected. This paper thus advises the head of the state to install quality education in the various professional institutions (Cline, 2010). Accessibility of financial institutions, as well as educational institutions, is limited (Gilpin & Gilpin, 2001). Most of the local communities in developing countries travel for miles so as to arrive to the nearest hospital. Due to the absence, the general public lack the required information concerning climate finance funds. The state government should thus institute accessible centres and representative to the most remote areas. Full information concerning the funds should be openly represented to the public. Fear of approaching the institutions is also a potential cause of lack of information to the general public. This kind of ignorance leads to lack of the potential access to the funds and their respective information by the public. Most of the times, the general public ignores the presence of such institutions at their disposal (Michaelowa, 2012). Legal implication that is controlling the institutional limits the diversification of the financial practices and education. The existing regulations and rules of the respective states most of the times define complicated legal procedures in the accessibility of the required information on the sector. The complexity discourages the individual from seeking the financial resources. In return, the development on climatic problems control persists (Cline, 2010). The cost of accessing the financial, legal and educational institutions is relatively high for a local community. Since financial resources are scarce, the high-cost discourages the public from seeking the required information on the climate finance sector. The local communities prioritize the fulfilment of their basic needs rather than seeking of the tertiary luxurious information. The paper thus advises the state government to subsidize the cost incurred in the procedures of the overall practise. 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