Search Climate Insights Directory

The study examines the gendered and social drivers of vulnerability to climate-related water insecurity in Burkina Faso's Centre-East region, highlighting how gender roles and ethnicity influence risks and responses.

The Green FIDC is a proposed financial structure designed to address the funding shortfall for green projects in Brazil by securitizing receivables through asset-backed securities. It utilizes a two-stage process: providing construction and development finance for greenfield projects using risk-appropriate public or concessional funds, followed by refinancing through senior shares in Brazilian Capital Markets once projects are operational. A pilot project with Órigo Energia for residential rooftop solar systems has already secured 30% of junior and mezzanine shares from private investors. The broader program aims to leverage up to USD 1 billion in clean investment and avoid up to 6 million tons of CO2.

Nav Jivan Hospital in India's Palamu district installed a 10-kilowatt peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) system in January 2020 to combat erratic electric supply and voltage fluctuations. This system provides reliable power for critical intensive care unit (ICU) equipment, including ventilators for COVID-19 patients, reducing the hospital's dependence on expensive and polluting diesel generators. The case highlights a broader systemic issue in India, where as of 2019, at least 30% of sub-centers in 14 states lacked electricity connections, and nearly 800 primary health centers operated without power.

The report provides a case study of the Fuouaris Upload network, a pro-ISIS ecosystem on Facebook that used account hijacking, content masking, and coordinated 'raids' to spread propaganda. Between April 7 and July 3, 2020, researchers tracked 288 accounts, finding that a core group of 90 was controlled by a single user, Luqmen Ben Tachafin. The network expanded to SoundCloud and utilized multilingual communities (including Indonesian, Somali, and Albanian) to bypass moderation. The report highlights the use of COVID-19 narratives to celebrate death tolls and the exploitation of virtual phone number apps to hijack accounts, arguing that Facebook's reliance on AI and hashing is insufficient without 'street level' understanding of extremist tactics.

The document describes a participatory research project in Kitulu, Kenya, where community members used backcasting to imagine a 2030 scenario of universal electric cooking. Participants linked electric cooking to broader development gains, such as improved infrastructure and food security, while emphasizing a stepwise transition through 'stacking' different cooking technologies. The study highlights the importance of building community social capacity and civic engagement to demand public services and manage the transition.

The report analyzes how the EU's ESIF, particularly the ERDF and CF, supports climate mitigation and energy efficiency in Member States like Lithuania and Slovakia. It identifies success factors such as partnership-based negotiations, alignment with national priorities, and the use of non-grant financial instruments to leverage private capital. However, it notes limitations including administrative hurdles, limited project preparation capacities, and a tendency to fund 'low-hanging fruits' over advanced R&D. The document concludes with five key lessons for international climate policy, emphasizing national ownership, simplified procurement, and the need for comprehensive technical assistance.

The document explores 'solar for coal swaps,' where third-party investors and developers purchase and retire a utility's coal assets in exchange for contracts to provide new solar power. This model aims to bypass utility inertia and high costs, particularly for municipal and cooperative utilities. The brief highlights that by 2025, 22.5 GW of such plants will be uneconomic compared to local solar. Case studies from New Mexico and Colorado, involving Kit Carson Cooperative, Holy Cross Energy, and Delta Montrose Electric Association, demonstrate how these swaps can reduce consumer rates and promote local economic development despite resistance from wholesale providers like Tri State Generation and Transmission Cooperative.

The report analyzes the cost of credit for seven financial institutions in Ghana and Zambia, identifying that operational costs are the primary driver of high credit costs. It finds that economies of scale and product portfolio composition significantly influence efficiency, while external factors like regulatory reforms in Ghana and economic slowdowns in Zambia impact the cost of risk. The study concludes that high input costs often make lending loss-making, pushing institutions toward safer government securities.

The Mokoloki project, launched in February 2020, serves as a proof-of-concept for an 'undergrid' model in Nigeria, where a solar hybrid minigrid replaces a weak grid connection through a tripartite agreement between a utility, a developer, and the community. The project has demonstrated technical reliability of 99.9% and provided economic benefits, including reduced electricity costs for customers and lower technical and commercial losses for the utility. It utilizes an operator-led business model where the developer manages generation and operations while paying a fixed monthly distribution usage fee to the utility.

The document examines the vulnerability of Mombasa to climate change, specifically flooding and sea-level rise, and argues for the integration of nature-based solutions into urban planning. It highlights the role of mangroves, constructed wetlands, and urban green zones in enhancing ecological and social resilience. The brief notes that current major planning documents, such as the Gate City Master Plan, lack systematic climate resilience strategies, and advocates for a 'joined-up' approach using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to coordinate stakeholder action and build social capital.

The paper examines nature-based solutions (NbS) in coastal cities across India, South Africa, Seychelles, and Tanzania, highlighting how integrating traditional knowledge and community empowerment can enhance urban resilience. It argues that for NbS to be effective in the Global South, they must be aligned with broader development agendas to address socio-economic inequalities and generate green jobs.

The document examines how renewable energy transitions in West Sumatra, Indonesia, can either entrench or challenge existing social inequities. Through case studies of geothermal, micro-hydro, and biofuel projects, it highlights how patriarchal land management and closed decision-making processes exclude women and marginalized groups from benefits. It also analyzes the limitations of national LPG subsidies and grid electrification in reaching the rural poor, concluding that a gender-sensitive approach is essential to ensure just transitions.

The document proposes integrating Sovacool et al.'s "4E" typology (enclosure, exclusion, encroachment, and entrenchment) with the Mechanisms of Social Change (MOSC) mapping approach to identify causal pathways in adaptation projects. By mapping the solar electricity system in Turkana, Kenya, the authors demonstrate how specific actions—such as consultation, licensing, and facility design—create sequential pathways that determine how benefits and losses are distributed among community members.

The report examines how secondary cities in the Global South navigate sustainability transitions using a multi-level governance framework. Through eight case studies, it analyzes the roles of national, provincial, and local governments, private sector actors, and community-based organizations. The findings highlight that while disasters often trigger local action, a lack of financial autonomy and institutional coordination frequently hinders the scaling of pilot projects. The report argues for a shift from purely participative to collaborative governance to improve inclusivity and sustainability outcomes.

The Ceres/WWF AgWater Challenge Progress Report evaluates the efforts of a cohort of global food and beverage companies to address water risks in their agricultural supply chains. It details specific company achievements in sustainable sourcing, water-risk assessments, and regenerative agriculture, while identifying five key lessons for corporate water stewardship, including the necessity of funding transitions for farmers and the importance of holistic, soil-health-focused approaches over single-issue programs.

The document outlines a transition from administrative to strategic public procurement in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting four regional case studies and ten essential components for reform to support sustainable development.

Prof. Michael Taylor of the University of the West Indies conducts 'climate SMART workshops' for technocrats from various small island nations to bridge the gap between global climate science and local decision-making. These workshops employ interactive methods, such as games and role play, and utilize local science and simplified messaging to make IPCC findings relevant and actionable for sector workers.

Dr Aïda Diongue Niang utilizes a non-formal, conversational approach to bridge the gap between local observations of weather changes and scientific explanations for climate change in Senegal. By replacing traditional presentations with community-led discussions and expert 'conversation shops', she helps farmers and fishing communities integrate climate information into their decision-making to mitigate risks. While these methods have built trust and fostered the co-design of climate services, scaling this process across all needy communities and sectors remains a challenge.

Dr Paola Arias, an author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, details a 2019 community meeting in Bogotá where a ceiling collapse caused by heavy rains served as a real-time example of climate risk. She argues that interpreting scientific evidence through the lens of social impacts and daily local issues—such as Bogotá's flood plain construction and landfill collapse—is more effective for public engagement than traditional presentation protocols.

Dr Svitlana Krakovska, an author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, utilizes local examples and health analogies to communicate climate science to the Ukrainian public, with a particular focus on educating young people to prepare them for future climate challenges.