Displacing liability to poorest

The transfer of financial resources to support adaptation actions in developing countries is almost always backed by legal contracts or agreements that send the financial risk and liability of underperformance or non-compliance to ultimate beneficiaries or community intermediaries – ie vulnerable people and communities.

Such contract terms mean many are unable to sign up for fear of being financially ruined, particularly where terms set very specific targets several years in the future, with limited opportunity to renegotiate.

We need to expose these terms and show examples, raise the profile and propose alternative structures based on solidarity/risk sharing approach that optimises for impact rather than control.