Transformative transparency in the EU and UNFCCC? Assessing the perceived influence of reporting and review on climate policy in Finland

Transparency arrangements are often expected to strengthen national-level policymaking. To probe this assumption, this article analyses the perceived influence of international reporting and review on national climate policymaking in Finland. Based on a content analysis of stakeholder interviews, it examines perceptions in two contexts where Finland is obliged to report and is subject to review: the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with a particular focus on the potential policy changes in the Finnish land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector. The Finnish case demonstrates that reporting and review are perceived to lead to first-order policy changes, such as improving the knowledge base, that mainly support institutional stability. However, the influences on second- or third-order policy changes, such as modifications to LULUCF policy instruments or policy goals, are seen as more limited or non-existent. The influence of transparency arrangements is considered to be stronger in the EU than in the UNFCCC context. The findings suggest that while transparency can be a weak cause of state behavioural change, various factors hinder its influence on policy changes. More attention needs to be paid to the direction in which transparency triggers policy change. Transparency arrangements can contribute to maintaining or enhancing the status quo, but they also run the risk of weakening it.