One global movement sharing one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption.
In 1993, a few individuals decided to take a stance against corruption and created Transparency International. Now present in more than 100 countries, the movement works relentlessly to stir the world’s collective conscience and bring about change. Much remains to be done to stop corruption, but much has also been achieved, including:
- the creation of international anti-corruption conventions
- the prosecution of corrupt leaders and seizures of their illicitly gained riches
- national elections won and lost on tackling corruption
- companies held accountable for their behaviour both at home and abroad.
Climate Change
Climate change is arguably the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced. Huge expense is needed to prevent and respond to it. This means tempting opportunities for corruption. Some estimates put total investments to offset the effects of climate change at almost US $700 billion by 2020. Most of this will flow through new, uncoordinated channels. There are grey zones and loopholes in regulations, and these risk being exploited by corrupt interests. They’re made more dangerous by pressure to ‘fast-track’ solutions.
Yet essential concepts are still being debated (what counts as a forest?). There are still few rules for geo-engineering (climate manipulation) – perhaps one of the riskiest human activities for the environment. And ways to measure the effects of carbon offsets are relatively untested. Meanwhile, the people worst affected by climate change are usually excluded from the debate. The voices of indigenous and remote communities and poor people in cities are rarely heard. This shows how urgently we need open, accountable climate governance.