s u s t A i n A b l e development insights Rio+20: Accountability and Implementation as Key Goals Adil Najam and Miquel Muñoz A b o u t t h e Au t h o r s For more than two decades the Global global effort has focused on negotiating Prof. Adil Najam was recently appointed Environmental Governance (GEG) agreements, there has been little Vice Chancellor of the Lahore system has been a story of growth, and focus on implementing the University of Management there is much progress to celebrate: agreements or holding Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan scores of new international institutions; international actors and was until recently the Director of the Frederick a proliferation of legal instruments, accountable for their global S. Pardee Center for the declarations, and financial mechanisms; commitments. One does Study of the Longer-Range growing public interest; multiple layers not wish to be harsh in this Future. He works on issues of national structures; an impressive assessment, since we are still of international diplomacy, sustainable development, and knowledge economy serviced by in the relatively early days of human well-being, with a focus multitudes of experts in governments, this global enterprise. However, on developing countries. academia and in civil society. Most as we prepare for the forthcoming 2012 importantly, perhaps, the idea of United Nations Conference on Dr. Miquel Muñoz, a Post- sustainable development is now firmly Sustainable Development Doctoral Fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center ensconced as the very central goal of all (known as “Rio+20”), for the Study of the Longer- environmental governance. Arguably, an accountability and Range Future, specializes environmental governance can now only implementation deficit now in renewable energy, be understood within the context of the stares us squarely in the sustainable development sustainable development imperative. face. And Rio+20 would be and climate change. He has participated in numerous a very good moment to start international environmental Despite the fact that there is much to seriously addressing this deficit. negotiations. be justifiably proud of in this growth in the infrastructure of governance, the Stakeholders at all levels are global challenges have in fact multiplied aware of the urgency for the GEG Sustainable Development Insights is a in both number and intensity. This is system to deliver on its promise of series of short policy essays supporting the Sustainable Development partly because our understanding of implementation. However, there are Knowledge Partnership (SDKP) and the extent and nature of many of the obstacles to achieving this goal, none edited by Boston University’s Frederick challenges has itself grown, and many more important than a widely prevalent S. Pardee Center for the Study of the of the problems have proven to be far ‘culture of unaccountability.’ For years, Longer-Range Future. The series seeks more complex and difficult to deal talk of accountability was feared by to promote a broad interdisciplinary with than we had once assumed. But it many who considered it a threat and dialogue on how to accelerate is also evident that while much of the resisted by others who saw it as a sustainable development at all levels. www.un.org/esa/dsd http://tinyurl.com/susdevkp www.bu.edu/pardee 008 A u g u s t 2 0 11 Rio+20: Goals Accountability Key as and Implementation distraction from ‘real issues.’ We premise that if all countries do the Beyond shaming, there is no believe that this is no longer the ‘right thing,’ this is good not only disincentive for failing to implement. case. There is a growing realization for them, but for everyone else. This Shaming itself becomes less effective of the costs of unaccountability, approach, however, leads to the as repeated failure leads to an an evolution of norms in related classic free-rider problem. Rules- increased culture of unaccountability, governance areas, and a recognition based GEG exists — e.g. ozone and where the norm seems to be that that accountability is a key lever CITES — but, as best exemplified implementation of commitments is for implementation. Importantly, by the Kyoto Protocol, rules-based optional, rather than mandatory. In Rio+20 and its focus on the GEG has severe accountability and addition, there is a short institutional institutional challenges to sustainable compliance deficits. memory of who committed or development provide an opportunity failed to implement what, which to bring the issues of accountability The GEG system has evolved within leads to further impunity for failing and implementation to the forefront. a negotiation paradigm, rather than to implement, even for the soft an implementation mindset. The standards of naming and shaming. This paper seeks to develop a accelerated growth in the number practical agenda for institutional and intensity of GEG negotiations towards more reform to improve implementation during the last two decades has by identifying a set of incremental resulted in an over-heated, never- Accountability: A and plausible steps in two areas: (a) ending negotiation system that pragmatic Agenda strengthening the mechanics that can sometimes see negotiation It is impossible to undo the culture cultivate accountability, and (b) as its primary function and goal. of unaccountability with the stroke putting into place the institutional Environmental institutions have of a pen. As any large organization arrangements that nurture these morphed into — and see themselves knows, institutional cultures cannot mechanics. A first and important as — negotiation support services. As be changed overnight, and changes step, however, is to recognize a result, GEG efforts are measured require long-term dedicated top- the aforementioned ‘culture of by negotiation metrics rather than by level commitment. What is needed unaccountability.’ actual environmental improvements. is a set of ‘radically incremental’ Often, implementation stakeholders steps to begin creating an alternative have little ownership of the treaties culture of accountability that the Culture of that they inherit from the negotiators. refines, reinforces and rewards the unaccountability Developing countries’ few resources habits of accountability within A ‘culture of unaccountability’ is are siphoned off to servicing the international system, while perhaps the most significant enabler the appetites of international discouraging unaccountability. of unaccountability and, thus, lack negotiation, at the expense of This can be done by identifying of implementation in GEG. It is domestic implementation. those elements within the GEG important to understand why the system that are doable today and culture of unaccountability has Global realities are being shaped by will begin developing a culture of become such a pervasive feature of forces beyond the nation-state, yet accountability, steering the system the GEG system. Our previous work key actors remain unrepresented in the right direction. These steps (Najam and Halle 2010) identified in the GEG system. Despite well- include enabling accountability several reasons. meaning yet token participation, mechanics and enabling institutional most non-state actors — whether civil arrangements, both of which are Global environmental governance society groups, business interests, discussed in greater detail below. is declaratory in nature, relying on or local communities — have no values-based and knowledge-based real tools to hold the international enAbling ACCountAbility persuasion, in contrast to other system accountable for its actions (or meChAniCs ‘rules-based’ areas of international inaction); nor does the international We define accountability mechanics governance. The dominant culture system have any real tools with which as those measures that cultivate is one of moral persuasion — GEG to engage with civil society. and facilitate accountability. These efforts are generally based on the include metrics and reporting, 2 sustainable development insights | 008 | august 2011 transparency, compliance, and It is important to emphasize that improved metrics and reporting capacity building. good indicators and reporting requirements cannot be slapped into cost money, both for monitoring an agreement as an afterthought, 1. Improved metrics and and data collection, and for the but need to be conceived and reporting mechanics actual preparation and submission endowed with appropriate resources. Effective mandated reporting of reports. For instance, the cost Importantly, there are synergies and requirements must be defined to of preparing a single national economies to be had if reporting gauge progress against obligations and commitments, using agreed upon sets of performance indicators. Improved metrics are required, especially metrics that measure actual progress in environmental matters, rather than effort. In physics, moving a single brick represents more work than pushing a wall for days. In a fitting analogy, for the GEG system we want to know report on implementation for metrics for different MEAs are how many environmental bricks have the UN Convention to Combat coordinated and cross-learning been moved, not how many years Desertification has been estimated is encouraged. governments spent pushing against at approximately US$56,000. Even walls. Particularly relevant are such modest estimations, if spread In addition to being appropriately metrics reflecting bottom-up and across the spectrum of multi-lateral funded, reporting needs to