Workshop: Mutual Accountability in Climate Policy

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Lack of progress in multilateral climate change negotiations is often attributed to a long-standing, ever-widening and yet poorly defined ‘trust deficit’ between developed and developing countries. This workshop questions this focus on instance, absence and significance of trust as a means to achieve the desired end – i.e. a global agreement on how to and who will mitigate, adapt to, and foot the bill for climate change. Panellists will discuss issues of process and substance in the climate negotiations, such as equity, accountability, financing, and transparency in MRV (‘measurable, reportable, verifiable’). These are issues where progress would in turn increase trust among parties, and thereby in the multilateral negotiations too. Questions for departure include: Can accountability of all actors be prerequisite for trust to solidify and for progress to be made in the intricately linked problems of creating a functioning global climate change policy? What types of mechanisms, procedures and institutional arrangements would establish confidence in mutual accountability structures that monitor climate change policy and policy compliance? What is the present and potential role of non-state actors (e.g. NGOs, private sector), and how would accountability procedures apply to these actors?

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