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- Convenors:
-
Pooja Jain-Grégoire
(Sciences Po Paris)
Peter Taylor (Institute of Development Studies)
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- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Decolonization and knowledge production
Short Abstract:
There is a crisis of commitment to tackling climate change, with a trust deficit in multilateralism in climate-linked development aid. Through a decolonisation lens, the panel will offer perspectives on potentials for creating a broad coalition of the most-affected across the global south and north.
Description:
The panel seeks to address the crisis in commitment to tackling climate change and its effects on development finance and the debate on adaptation vs mitigation. Papers presented will seek to analyse the trust deficit in multilateralism and collective action in the field of climate-linked development aid, through a decolonisation lens. The most compelling narratives in an era of increasing uncertainty, as typified by climate change, are shaped by multiple perspectives and different forms and expressions of knowledge, and by working in a spirit of inclusion and in participatory ways. Whilst multilateralism implies a collective agenda, there are many forms of knowledge and experience in this arena that are neither heard nor valued. Digital advances, whilst bringing opportunities for information sharing, tend to create further barriers and constraints for populations excluded from their design and use. Artificial intelligence infrastructure housed in the global north is also a growing source of carbon emissions, creating new forms of climate colonialism. By drawing on experiences of bringing different perspectives and forms of knowledge to bear, the panel will explore potentials and opportunities for creating a broad, inclusive coalition of the most-affected across the global south and north. We invite papers offering inter-disciplinary case studies addressing the link between climate aid and the digital divide. In line with claims of epistemic justice, combined with distributive justice and reparations for past emissions, we will explore the potentials for decolonising the future of climate finance.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
Climate finance helps developing nations to tackle climate change. The study accesses the African Development Bank's Common Approach to Measuring Climate Results (CAMCR) in Nigeria, and addresses its adaptability to local socio-economic and environmental challenges for justice-driven climate action.
Paper long abstract:
Climate finance is crucial in helping developing nations address and mitigate the effects of climate change. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) like the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) are an integral component for improving social and economic development in Africa. The high 5s of this institution, outlines its priorities to transform the lives of Africans. However, the extent to which these priorities integrate the principle of social and environmental justice remains understudied. The study seeks to evaluate MDBs’ recently adopted Common Approach to Measuring Climate Results (CAMCR). This framework regulates impacts and enhances transparency in aligning local-realities with justice-based frameworks. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is characterized by high incidence of urbanisation and population growth, and faces a high vulnerability level to the interconnected planetary crisis. This provides a case for evaluating the framework’s adaptability in this low-resource setting. Contextualizing the framework within her unique climate and socio-economic landscape will generate actions for scaling climate interventions.
Paper short abstract:
This study is on how youth-led movements and diaspora networks address polycrisis like climate change and inequality. Drawing on the Samoan concept of tautua (service), it highlights how Indigenous knowledge and transnational solidarity transform crises into opportunities for systemic change.
Paper long abstract:
In the era of polycrisis—known for overlapping challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and health emergencies—youth-led movements and diaspora networks are emerging as transformative agents of change. This paper is on how these groups navigate uncertainty and systemic risks by fostering transnational solidarity and advocating for decolonial development practices. Drawing on the Samoan concept of tautua—a relational model of leadership rooted in service and reciprocity—the study explores how Indigenous knowledge systems inform innovative responses to the polycrisis. Case studies include youth-led mangrove restoration projects, diaspora-funded climate initiatives, and grassroots health interventions during COVID-19, showing how tautua bridges generational and geographic divides to promote sustainable, community-driven solutions. By challenging Northern-dominated epistemologies and teleological narratives of development, this paper highlights the potential of diaspora and youth networks to transform crises into opportunities for reparative and relational futures. The findings contribute to critical dialogues on reimagining development practices in the face of global uncertainties.
Paper short abstract:
This paper presents a case study of a new modality for climate finance that brings together actors from different regions. This new approach is conceptualised by the Global North, funded by a resource-rich middle power, and targeting the Global South.
Paper long abstract:
Current debates on climate finance centre around a disparity in thinking between the Global North and South. The Global South demands more financial support for climate adaptation and mitigation, emphasising that developed nations, historically responsible for most emissions, should shoulder the financial burden. The Global North, barely acknowledging responsibility, is reneging on earlier promises of large-scale funding, citing concerns over accountability and the potential misuse of funds. The Global South also emphasizes the need for debt relief and climate justice, while the North is prioritising market-driven solutions and private sector involvement in funding climate initiatives. In this context, an initiative is currently being developed to create a new climate finance mechanism that will allegedly address a gaping hole in current finance flows: finance for conflict-affected and conflict-prone regions in the Global South. The new mechanism was conceptualised by a Global North actor tailored for and targeting a resource-rich middle power for funding. Using participant observation, this paper presents the development of this mechanism as an example of the importance of the positionality of actors in creating narratives for climate finance and the centrality of North-South relations in determining which narratives of global problems and solutions are adopted and gain momentum. While the final form of the mechanism is similar to those adopted by other organisations operating in this space, the actors involved and the process of creating the mechanism are unique and deserve attention.
Paper short abstract:
Facing financing deficits in tackling the climate crisis, this research will analyze the strategies of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for supporting green financing, its contributions to expanding green financing, and the resulting environmental implications in Asia.
Paper long abstract:
Facing financing deficits in tackling the climate crisis, this research will analyze AIIB’s strategies for supporting green financing, its contributions to expanding green financing, and the environmental implications in Asia.
Research Questions
1. What is the role of AIIB in promoting green financing?
2. What are the measurable effects of AIIB in supporting clean energy, renewable energy, and decarbonization in Asia?
Expected findings
1. Policy Impact Evaluation: Analyze the role of AIIB in promoting clean energy access, decarbonization, and climate change mitigation. (1) Addressing Development Financing Gaps: Evaluate how AIIB helps bridge the shortfall in development financing, particularly for clean energy projects in Asia. (2) Enhanced Creditworthiness: Examine AIIB’s strategy in international capital markets, such as issuing bonds backed by equity (paid-in capital and reserves) and callable capital (Chen and Yang, 2015). Highlight how callable capital contributions from high-rated countries like China strengthen AIIB’s credit rating and enable financing for projects in low-rated countries. (3) Non-Interference Policy: AIIB’s policy neutrality contrasts with the macro-financial frameworks of the Washington Consensus (WC) and Wall Street Consensus (WSC), which emphasize independent central banks, fiscal restraint, capital mobility, and deregulated finance.
These frameworks weaken the developmental state capacity to implement capital controls and enforce strong regulatory enforcement (Gabor and Sylla, 2023). In contrast, AIIB’s policy neutrality facilitates immediate green financing solutions to address the urgent climate crisis.
2. Quantitative Impact Assessment: Measure the concrete contributions of AIIB and Chinese development finance institutions to emissions reduction and clean energy access in Asia.