Green economy lacks transparency

DHAKA, Bangladesh, May 2 (UPI) -- Rampant corruption and pervasive fraud threatens to undermine the billion-dollar effort to control climate change, Transparency International claims.

"The global response to climate change will demand unprecedented international cooperation, deep economic transformation and resource transfers at a significant scale," the group said in a 400-page report released in Bangladesh. "Corruption threatens to jeopardize these efforts."

The report warns that the $100 billion planned globally by 2020 to tackle climate change is vulnerable to corruptions as the money flows through "untested channels."

Transparency International Chairwoman Huguette Labelle said the need for accountability in the emerging green economy is urgent.

"Oversight must be built into all climate-related initiatives from the start," she said in a statement. "Good governance now will help ensure the success of the impact of climate change policy and funding."

None of the 20 countries surveyed by Transparency International in its report scored higher than 3.6 on a corruption scale where a score of "0" signifies extreme corruption and "10" represents a "very clean" perception.

The report calls for more public engagement with the emerging green economy in order to curb potential conflicts of interest in the decisions made on climate policy.