June 2025 –

Yonatan Yakir, from the UNCAC Coalition, opens the event with an overview of why environmental crime and corruption (ECC) is a key area in need of strong coordinated action ahead of the CoSP. Corruption in the environmental field is a global and growing threat which accelerates climate change, destroys biodiversity, and undermines governance, human rights and security. Adding to this is the global scale of climate financing which has introduced new corruption risks and jeopardizes efforts to meet climate mitigation and adaptation goals.

There are major gaps in anti-corruption frameworks and implementation strategies which need urgent attention to be able to effectively tackle ECC, and climate change.

Sustaining momentum in the fight against environmental crime and corruption

Nicolas Karges, from the Permanent Mission for France to the UN in Vienna, and Co-chair of the Members States’ Group of Friends on Crimes that Affect the Environment,  notes that the UNCAC is still a timely initiative that has the ability to sustain momentum for fighting ECC. The effects of  the triple planetary crisis (biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution) are fuelling the occurrence of environmental crime. A recent conference hosted by France, last April, starkly highlighted the role of corruption as a force that undermines environmental protection, with the blatant persecution of environmental defenders and rangers.

Given the scarcity of resources and experts in law enforcement, including in the field of corruption, we cannot afford a siloed approach. Efforts must be strong and coordinated, and a holistic course of action must be adopted. Karges reiterates the power of civil society in advancing the agenda, spurring the debate and for being key actors on the ground fighting ECC. They have played a key role in the UNCAC review mechanism and recognises the need to increase participation of CSOs in country reviews and provide avenues for direct dialogue.

Urgent action needed at the CoSP 

Lisa Hartevelt, from Wildlife Justice Commission, and Chair of the UNCAC Coalition Working Group on Environmental Crime and Corruption,  highlights that organized criminal networks often rely on corruption throughout the global supply chain to sustain their operations. The irreversible harm caused by environmental and climate-related crimes, where it also undermines human rights and the livelihoods of local communities and Indigenous Peoples in particular, calls for urgent action at the CoSP. She states that:

• Existing resolutions need to be updated.. CoSP Resolution 8/12, while a key resolution, was adopted more than six years ago, and does not address critical issues such as climate impacts and governance, integrity and oversight mechanisms in climate finance, beneficial ownership transparency, as well as the need to deploy special investigative techniques and joint investigations, which are very effective tools to combat corruption impacting the environment.
• We need to build upon UNCAC CoSP10 resolutions (10/2, 10/5, 10/6, 10/8, 10/9, 10/11), and apply the advanced standards agreed therein regarding beneficial ownership and public procurement transparency, the links between organized crime and corruption, and the protection of reporting persons, specifically to corruption facilitating crimes against the environment and the climate.
• We need to align with global commitments and promote synergies with other global frameworks such as CITES, EITI,  and relevant resolutions recently adopted in Vienna, such as in the context of the  UNTOC, CCPCJ. 

The need for coordinated engagement 

Alexnadra Manea, from the World Bank, denotes that corruption is an obstacle for all projects they finance to achieve intended outcomes. Experts are attempting to develop a common language that explores the difference between corruption in climate finance projects, and corruption in development in general. 

The climate crisis is an existential threat characterized by unlimited needs, but faced with limited resources. We cannot afford corruption in the field of environment and climate change, nor accept the status quo that corruption is just another cost of doing business. We need to focus anti-corruption efforts on recovery, with a timely resolution at COSP11. 2025 so far has seen the largest amount of finance targeted to a specific cause (climate): for the COP29 in Baku, nations have agreed to a new climate goal per year of 300 billion USD annually, with the larger target of 1.3 trillion USD in combined private and public investments. If even 1% of this money gets lost to corruption, it’s hundreds of millions diverted from vulnerable communities in acute need. 

Anti-corruption is an integral part of the climate agenda. If the world is to fulfill the commitments laid out in international agreements and national strategies, we need to manage integrity risks and have coordinated systematic engagement between relevant UN bodies. Alexandra highlights 3 main directions and opportunities outlined in the World Bank 2nd symposium report on Supranational Responses to Corruption-Integrity and Finance in Climate Action:

• Align and coordinate efforts along supranational frameworks (UNCAC, UNFCCC, UNTOC) to address intersection among these topics.
• Improve transparency and beneficial ownership – this remains an essential anti-corruption measure, including in climate finance to enhance investment confidence. To address climate change we need climate financing.
• Enhance the focus on damage reparation and fund allocation for affected victims. This has been a topic of constant preoccupation for multilateral banks.

Tracking and monitoring mechanisms 

Kristen Robinson, from Open Contracting Partnership, provides the procurement angle, warning that public spending and procurement are the number one corruption risks for governments. Open contracting approaches can be used to track climate funds as procurement data provides information of where money ends up. Currently, it is very difficult to track whether climate funds arrive to the intended recipient, or are used to build intended projects. To this end, citizens can help governments monitor what is taking place on the ground by reporting when projects fail. She draws on the success of the platform “Dream” which tracks funds being used for reconstruction in Ukraine.

If an ECC resolution is tabled at the next CoSP, States need  to consider alignment with international frameworks. The resolution should call for tracking funds and understanding where they go. The monitoring of fund allocation and use can be bolstered by community engagement.

Summary and closing remarks 

Carlos Albero Sanchez Del Aguila, from the Permanent Mission of Peru in Vienna and Co-Chair of the Group of Friends on Crimes that Affect the Environment, reiterated that not only that the UNCAC remains the main framework to combat corruption globally, but when it comes to adopting stronger and more specific measures in fighting corruption as it relates to the environment and climate- “the time do it is now”. He highlighted that the Group of Friends, under the co-chairmanship of France and Peru, will discuss and coordinate its action at CoSP 11, including identifying possible leading countries to table a draft resolution.