ACCOUNTABILITY OF GLOBAL PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE – RESEARCH REPORT

ACCOUNTABILITY OF GLOBAL PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE – RESEARCH REPORT

This report contains the results of the 2011/12 accountability assessment of the World Bank, the WHO and the WTO, three IGOs with a mandate to respond to the challenges of global sustainable development including climate change. Drawing also on the results of a previous assessment in 2006, and a post-assessment review of relevant organisational change until 2017, we identify the strengths and weaknesses in the institutional capabilities of the IGOs to be accountable to internal, and in particular external stakeholders, and sketch out the different accountability reform trajectories in the governance of the studied institutions over the past decade. The World Bank shows itself more dynamic than the WHO, which however catches up with reforms more recently. The WTO remains inert due to a very limited perspective on the accountability implications of its impact. The article finishes with lessons learnt from research methodology and engagement practice with the studied organisations.

The report builds on research conducted between 2010 and 2013 as part of a UK ESRC funded project on Power, Equity, Accountability in Global Climate Governance. ESRC/DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation) Phase 2, RES-167-25-0576, and implemented by the LSHTM and the One World Trust from 2010 to 2013. Further monitoring work on organisational change was carried out by the authors for 2014 to 2019.