Conditionality in Climate Finance: Balancing Effectiveness, Justice, and Sovereignty in the COP Framework
This article analyses why conditionality persists in climate finance and how it can be redesigned to reconcile effectiveness with climate justice. Building on the principal-agent theory, the political economy of aid conditionality, and distributive and procedural justice frameworks, it conceptualises conditionality as layered governance. Using process tracing of the COP27–COP30 sequence and comparative analysis of finance instruments such as Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) and debt-for-climate swaps, the article shows that outcomes depend on design, concessionality and institutional context. It proposes justice-sensitive reforms that recast conditionality as a cooperative tool for accountability, equity and sustainable development.
- Sushanta Kumar Mahapatra, Madan Meher |
- March-April 2026 |
