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Accountability in Global Environmental Governance: A Meaningful Tool for Action?

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  • Teresa Kramarz

    (Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto)

  • Susan Park

    (The University of Sydney)

Abstract

Global environmental governance (GEG) is characterized by fragmentation, duplication, dispersed authority, and weak regulations. The gap between the need for action and existing responses has led to demands for accountability. This has created a paradox: accountability mechanisms to improve GEG have proliferated while the environment deteriorates. We offer a two-tier explanation for this paradox. First, actors establishing GEG are not held to account for the design of their environmental interventions. Biases in public, private, voluntary, and hybrid institutions, which shape goals and determine what to account for and to whom, remain unexamined. Second, efforts to establish accountability focus on functional requirements like monitoring and compliance, leading accountability to be viewed as an end in itself. Thus, complying with accountability may not mitigate negative environmental impacts. The utility of accountability hinges on improving governance at both tiers. Turning the accountability lens to the goals of those designing environmental institutions can overcome the focus of justifying institutions over environmental problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa Kramarz & Susan Park, 2016. "Accountability in Global Environmental Governance: A Meaningful Tool for Action?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:16:y:2016:i:2:p:1-21
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Michelle Scobie, 0. "International aid, trade and investment and access and allocation," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-16.
    3. Melanie van Driel & Frank Biermann & Rakhyun E. Kim & Marjanneke J. Vijge, 2022. "International organisations as ‘custodians’ of the sustainable development goals? Fragmentation and coordination in sustainability governance," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(5), pages 669-682, November.
    4. Michelle Scobie, 2021. "Treaty Preambles and The Environmental Justice Gap," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(3), pages 273-285, May.
    5. Michelle Scobie, 2020. "International aid, trade and investment and access and allocation," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 239-254, June.
    6. Li, Xing & Hu, Zhigao & Cao, Jianhua & Xu, Xing, 2022. "The impact of environmental accountability on air pollution: A public attention perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    7. Nadine Arnold, 2022. "Accountability in transnational governance: The partial organization of voluntary sustainability standards in long‐term account‐giving," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 375-391, April.
    8. Philip Schleifer & Matteo Fiorini & Graeme Auld, 2019. "Transparency in transnational governance: The determinants of information disclosure of voluntary sustainability programs," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(4), pages 488-506, December.
    9. Manjana Milkoreit & Kate Haapala, 2019. "The global stocktake: design lessons for a new review and ambition mechanism in the international climate regime," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 89-106, February.

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