Greed and Corruption: A Disease Accelerating the Global Environmental Catastrophe

Corruption and greed are at the root of environmental crimes and climate change. The catastrophic weather events of the recent years are a looming warning of what is to come.

From undue influence of the fossil fuel industry over climate policy development to misspending in climate finance projects and from corruption in the management of land to over consumption and waste in developed economies, if greed and corruption are not fought decisively, the environmental catastrophe awaiting us will only grow.

To address this global risk, the 21^st IACC invites experts, advocates, and defenders to assess our successes and challenges to date. We aim to outline key areas of action, and advocacy, for the following years for our global movement to take up.

• Anti-Corruption: The New Burden of Proof to Deep Sea Exploitation (Ws. 11.7)

  In this workshop, we want to delve into the crucial intersection of anti-corruption efforts and global governance, particularly in the realm of deep-sea mining. We’ll navigate the turbulent waters of corruption risks in awarding mining licenses, shining a spotlight on the dangers posed when unethical practices infiltrate this vital industry. Our main objective is to chart a course towards a more transparent and ethical future, by weaving anti-corruption measures into the precautionary principle to illuminate a pathway towards responsible deep-sea mining operations. This isn’t just about compliance; it’s about safeguarding our oceans and fostering a culture of integrity in every activity that affects our environment.

  Coordinated by Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)

  Featuring Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM)

• Safeguarding a Just Energy Transition in The Extractive and Energy Sectors (Ws 10.2)

  As the world moves away from fossil fuels, demand for minerals essential for renewable technologies is rising steeply. This session will create awareness of the corruption risks stemming from these changes and their impact on communities. Speakers will focus on innovative approaches to strengthen multi-stakeholder governance, to ensure transparency and accountability for a just energy transition.

  Coordinated by Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

  Featuring Transparency International Australia (TI - Australia), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

• Profit over Planet: Harnessing Data to Expose & Halt Big Polluter Influence in Climate Action (Ws 7.2)

  From the COP to the hallways of Parliaments, big polluters are derailing advances in climate action. Corporate lobbyists exploit the path towards a sustainable future through their financial arsenal. Evidence of this is key to holding their actions to account. From policy to the impact on society, discover how data empowers citizens to change a system of undue influence that puts profits over the planet

  Coordinated by Influence Map and Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S)

  Featuring Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S), Transparency International (TI - EU), Influence Map, Transparency International Brazil (TI - Brazil) and Kick Big Polluters Out

• Corruption in Critical Mineral Supply Chains (Ws 1.2)

  Meeting the Paris Agreement climate goals will require quadrupling the minerals currently used by clean energy technologies by 2040. Corruption could undermine the mining and metals sector’s ability to meet this surging demand responsibly. We will discuss the challenges that the government, private sector and CSOs face in seeking to ensure that the energy transition has minimal corruption losses.

  Coordinated by Basel Institute on Governance

  Featuring Basel Institute on Governance, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Corruption Eradication Commission and COSA Solutions

• All Hot Air? Carbon Markets and their Corruption Risks (Ws 5.2)

  Carbon markets have been hailed as a market-oriented solution to mitigate climate change. Their regulatory, pricing, and efficiency challenges have been discussed extensively. In contrast, this workshop will discuss the markets’ diverse integrity challenges and how anti-corruption tools could be applied to safeguard carbon markets from corruption.

  Coordinated by United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

  Featuring Transparency International, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Verra

• Losing Ground: Grand Corruption in The Land Sector (Ws 11.8)

  Land is not immune to grand corruption and elite capture. Corruption in land management contributes to kleptocrat capture of land policies, unfair allocation, and the use of land for political patronage. This workshop will invite diverse land and corruption experts/activists to discuss grand corruption in land grabs and call for a structured policy response in line with a recent UNCAC submission.

  Coordinated by Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S)

  Featuring Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S), Transparency International Indonesia (TI – Indonesia), International Institute for Environment and Development, Basel Institute on Governance

• From Research to Practice: Cutting-edge Integrity Solutions for The Climate Crisis (Ws 9.2)

  Corruption is fuelling the climate crisis by enabling the misuse of natural resources and diminishing the effective deployment of financing for climate goals. By bringing the latest research from a recent Symposium on climate and corruption, the workshop will reinvigorate the fight against corruption by discussing new ideas to forge a creative collective integrity response.

  Coordinated by World Bank

  Featuring Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S), World Bank, Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and Environment - London School of Economics (LSE), DLA Piper and Green Climate Fund

• Lives destroyed: How to use Compensation Funds to repair Environmental Crimes (Ws 11.2)

  Never has the world faced a reparation of such magnitude for the dam collapse that killed over 190 people in Brazil. Both cases involve accusations of undue political influence, lack of transparency and corruption in policy decisions and the use of compensation funds. How can guidelines for transparency and accountability by multinational companies and governments be established in such complex cases?

  Coordinated by University of Ouro Preto (UFOP)

  Featuring Transparency International Brazil (TI - Brazil), Universidad Nacional de Catamarca, CABF (committee of those affected by the dam collapse in Mariana, Brazil), Transparency International France (TI - France) and Pogust Goodhead

• Fraud and Corruption in Climate Financing

  Urgent action is needed to combat the accelerating climate change challenges. This panel will discuss some new approaches and instruments for climate financing, especially the increased emphasis on private capital mobilization and novel fraud and corruption risks that may arise with it. It will aim to understand emerging challenges and how new partnerships could help combat them.

  Coordinated by World Bank

  Featuring World Bank, Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan, U.S. Department of Treasury, BlackRock and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

• Transnational Corruption: Shedding Light on The Networks that Enable Environmental Crimes (Ws 4.2)

  This workshop explores the nexus between transnational corruption, environmental crimes, and other forms of serious organised crime. It aims to raise awareness of this nexus, enhance understanding of law enforcement opportunities, highlight the role of cross-sectoral partnerships, and advance policy recommendations to address the corruption that enables organized environmental crime networks.

  Coordinated by Wildlife Justice Commission

  Featuring Nature Crime Alliance, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Wildlife Justice Commission, Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition and Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

• In Debt to Nature: How Financing Election Campaigns Drives Environmental Destruction

  This session examines how running for political office in many countries is paid for by destroying the environment. Where candidates come into office with significant debts from their election campaigns, corruption is often a modus operandi for repaying them. Cases and possible solutions at the intersection of corruption, unsustainable development, and environmental decline will be discussed.

  Coordinated by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

  Featuring U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Bantay Kita and Proética, Transparency International Peru (TI – Peru)

• On the (Dirty) Money Trail, Lots of Fallen Trees

  Participants of this workshop will gain practical insights into environmental investigations. They will analyse real cases of investigations into deforestation, timber trafficking, and land grabbing. An ad-hoc learning game will help them identify the challenges in obtaining information, whether accessing databases, finding leaks and whistle-blowers, or difficulties accessing sources securely.

  Coordinated by Journalismfund Europe

  Featuring Journalismfund Europe, Global Witness Center for Investigative Reporting - BiH and a politics, global trade and environment journalist

• MACHINE LEARNING, SATELLITES AND JOURNALISTS JOIN FORCES IN THE RAINFOREST (Ws 6.2)

  Researchers have long used machine learning to analyse large databases. However, the rapid advance of neural networks has allowed these models, previously restricted to academia and business, to be applied to investigative journalism. This panel will show how data scientists teamed up with investigative journalists to uncover environmental crimes in rainforests across the world.

  Coordinated by Pulitzer Center

  Featuring Pulitzer Center, Earth Genome, Armando Info Venezuela and Global Witness

• A More Just Energy Transition: Preventing Corruption in Green Mineral Supply Chains (Ws 8.2)

  Civil society and private sector experts, including local organizations, at the global frontlines of the just energy transition will share fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to tackling corruption in the global green mineral supply chains. This will advance and inspire creative and collective efforts that build on extensive and well-known work in extractives and anti-corruption.

  Coordinated by United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

  Featuring United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Anti-Corruption Center, Transparency International Australia (TI – Australia), Perekezi and Gov Data Initiative (GDI)

• Safeguarding Our Planet: Tackling Corruption in Climate Finance (Ws 2.2)

  Global development organizations have a critical role to play in shaping the response to climate change and in ensuring that corruption doesn’t undermine our collective response to the intertwined challenges of climate adaptation, mitigation and the green transition. This is still an emerging policy area in anticorruption that requires coordinated and targeted responses. This high-level session will build on the momentum of the last year – the World Bank’s AC4D Global Forum, a session at COP28 convened by the IMF and WB, and UNODC’s climate focused sessions at COSP10 to advance the discussion and identify priority areas for action. The session will highlight findings from a joint paper on climate and corruption and emphasize the role of international organizations in this agenda.

  Coordinated by World Bank

  Featuring World Bank, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)