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In spite of the political whirlwind, climate change is no less real

Last week the world changed with the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. In Marrakesh this week the first Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1) had intended to consolidate commitments to keep global temperature rise below 2o Celsius and limit it even further to 1.5o. Instead, the spectre […]

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Makula logs in Zambia

Caution and optimism in Zambia as forest scheme scales up

The bark of the mukula tree has medicinal properties, the outer wood is prized for furniture and flooring, and the dense core is valuable to Chinese rifle manufacturers. With hundreds or thousands of dollars packed into each plant, mukula forests represent a gold mine for Zambia. But an entrenched web of corruption ensures only powerful […]

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New milestone in fight against global corruption

On 25 September 2015, the world’s leaders assembled at the UN in New York and made a historic statement in approving 17 key objectives to focus actions across the globe to bring the core strengths of our civilisation to its real potential. The UN General Assembly adopted new global goals, the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” […]

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Ending corruption, ending poverty – how will the SDGs measure up?

This week the United Nations will agree on 17 sustainable development goals. Goal 16 makes the case that fighting corruption is at the heart of delivering a better world. We have argued this case for many years and are beginning to amass the data to prove this. That’s why it is so important that in […]

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Image of cyclone victims

Bangladesh: Cutting off our heads to cure a headache?

Three years ago my team visited Khulna, a district in the southern coastal region of Bangladesh. We went to meet the communities trying to rebuild their lives there after their villages were almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Aila in 2009. To assist the rebuilding, the Bangladesh government lent its support, channelled through a trust fund […]

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Corruption must not capsize a sinking state: shoring up the Maldives’ climate sector

In 2011 the then-president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, held a televised cabinet meeting underwater. Armed with oxygen tanks and waterproof pens, ministers signed a document calling on countries to slash their carbon emissions. Nasheed also pledged to make the Maldives fossil fuel-free by 2020, and announced his intent to buy land in neighbouring India […]

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Drawing connections with cartoons: on the campaign trail in Papua New Guinea

Michael was the only person in the village who could speak English. He had learned it in Australia, and talked with a gentle upwards incline. As I spoke Michael interpreted into Suau (the local language), pausing intermittently for responses from the crowd. My audience was intimidatingly large – huddled rows of crossed legs and expectant […]

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REDD+: what you see isn’t always what you get

A colleague recently likened his experience tracking climate and REDD+ money in Mexico to an archaeological dig. Little by little, fragments of your object begin to reveal themselves, but not without a significant amount of time, resources and tenacity. At Transparency International we have been monitoring climate finance flows in six countries – of which […]

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The Green Climate Fund – bringing the world of ideas to the board room

The World Bank is a leading heavyweight in development investment, presiding over US$30 – $40 billion per year. Inaugurated last summer, the Green Climate Fund could soon dwarf that portfolio. It is estimated that by 2020 it will be channeling US$100 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries – to help arrest the […]

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Making climate money work

  This post is authored by Andrew Clarke, Advocacy Manager at Publish What You Fund, which campaigns for aid transparency – more and better information about aid.   Responding to climate change requires massive investment flows. It has been estimated that at least US$ 0.8 trillion will be needed each year for clean energy, transport, energy […]

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