How meaningfully have coal-workers been included in discussions on a just transition from coal, and how far would participation go in the disbursement of funds for reskilling workers? Financing is the crux of these decisions as it is meant to include rigorous environmental and social safeguards with the intention of responsible investments.
Just solutions are ones that are democratically developed and where all stakeholders are represented in decision making, more so in decisions related to financing. Withbeing lauded, this is the time to ensure space is carved out for participatory decision making across all institutions with a mandate for public wellbeing. Yet, financial institutions are the least transparent.
Despite having a public mandate, development finance institutions operate largely outside of the public gaze and oversight. With development challenges such as ours, institutions responsible for development on behalf of the public hold immense responsibility and, as such, accountability. For years, civil society organisations have been lobbying public financial institutions for increased transparency, accountability and meaningful consultation with affected stakeholders. It appears impossible to find out how harmful, unsustainable projects get the go-ahead. Even with intermittent engagements, emails and
, no responses of substance have been received other than acknowledgement of our concerns. Clearly, no structural or consistent change has been seen by way of policies or commitments around fossil fuel investment or public consultation.