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Transparency in multilateral climate politics: Furthering (or distracting from) accountability?

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  • Aarti Gupta
  • Harro van Asselt

Abstract

This article analyzes the interplay between transparency and accountability in multilateral climate politics. The 2015 Paris Agreement calls for a “pledge‐and‐review” approach to collective climate action with an “enhanced transparency framework” as a key pillar of the Agreement. By making visible who is doing what, transparency is widely assumed to be vital to holding countries to account and building trust. We explore whether transparency is generating such effects in this context, by developing and applying an analytical framework to examine the link between transparency and accountability. We find that the scope and practices of climate transparency reflect (rather than necessarily reduce) broader conflicts over who should be held to account to whom and about what, with regard to responsibility and burden sharing for ambitious climate action. We conclude that the relationship between transparency and accountability is less straightforward than assumed, and that the transformative promise of transparency needs to be reconsidered in this light.

Suggested Citation

  • Aarti Gupta & Harro van Asselt, 2019. "Transparency in multilateral climate politics: Furthering (or distracting from) accountability?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 18-34, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:13:y:2019:i:1:p:18-34
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12159
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Aarti Gupta, 2008. "Transparency Under Scrutiny: Information Disclosure in Global Environmental Governance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 8(2), pages 1-7, May.
    2. Fox, Jonathan A, 2007. "The uncertain relationship between transparency and accountability," Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, Working Paper Series qt8c25c3z4, Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
    3. Biermann, Frank & Gupta, Aarti, 2011. "Accountability and legitimacy in earth system governance: A research framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 1856-1864, September.
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    5. J. Timmons Roberts & Romain Weikmans, 2017. "Postface: fragmentation, failing trust and enduring tensions over what counts as climate finance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 129-137, February.
    6. Jane Ellis & Sara Moarif, 2015. "Identifying and addressing gaps in the UNFCCC reporting framework," OECD/IEA Climate Change Expert Group Papers 2015/7, OECD Publishing.
    7. Aarti Gupta, 2010. "Transparency in Global Environmental Governance: A Coming of Age?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 10(3), pages 1-9, August.
    8. Peter Newell, 2008. "Civil Society, Corporate Accountability and the Politics of Climate Change," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 8(3), pages 122-153, August.
    9. Jane Ellis & Gregory Briner & Yamide Dagnet & Nina Campbell, 2011. "Design Options for International Assessment and Review (IAR) and International Consultations and Analysis (ICA)," OECD/IEA Climate Change Expert Group Papers 2011/4, OECD Publishing.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Anne J. Sietsma & Rick W. Groenendijk & Robbert Biesbroek, 2023. "Progress on climate action: a multilingual machine learning analysis of the global stocktake," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(12), pages 1-12, December.

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