Search Climate Insights Directory
228 results
Aligning with the Paris Agreement
The report, produced by CPI and I4CE, outlines a theoretical framework for Paris alignment based on scope, scale, and time horizon, and provides a roadmap for development finance institutions (DFIs) to implement these principles. It emphasizes the unique role of IDFC members in bridging public and private sectors to support low-GHG, climate-resilient development pathways through policy advice, risk mitigation, and updated investment criteria.
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Document type: Executive summary
Rural livelihoods, food security and rural transformation under climate change
The paper examines the risks climate change poses to rural livelihoods in Asia, Africa, and Central America, noting that current adaptation efforts are insufficient. It advocates for a systemic transformation involving policy reform, digital agriculture, innovative finance, and the scaling of climate-resilient technologies. The authors propose five distinct pathways for adaptation—ranging from market integration and farming system shifts to exiting agriculture—tailored to different household types such as those 'stepping up', 'stepping out', 'hanging in', or those who are 'food insecure'.
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Document type: Research paper
Clean and Green
The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is developing the 'Clean and Green' framework to address gaps in rural sanitation, specifically for smallholder communities. The framework combines a 'Clean' track for risk management (eliminating open defecation and managing waste) and a 'Green' track for resource recovery (recycling nutrients and water for agriculture). It utilizes a stepwise certification system to motivate households and villages, aiming to synergistically meet multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by linking sanitation to agricultural productivity and ecosystem health.
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Document type: Briefing
THE COOLING FOR ALL NEEDS ASSESSMENT
The 'Cooling for All Needs Assessment' working paper argues that traditional equipment-based projections of cooling demand are insufficient because they rely on unreliable data and ignore the actual social and community needs of vulnerable populations. Instead, it proposes a needs-based approach aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to identify gaps in human comfort, food security, and health services. The framework aims to help policymakers reduce energy demand through passive design and behavioral change, identify sustainable technologies, and align finance with outcome-based interventions to mitigate the climate and energy impacts of rising cooling demand.
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Document type: Research paper
From Mobility to Access for All: Expanding Urban Transportation Choices in the Global South
The paper examines the decline of urban accessibility in the global South due to rapid urbanization and motorization. It introduces an access-mobility framework to categorize under-served residents and proposes three priority action areas: building safe, democratic street networks; developing integrated, user-oriented transport services; and managing private vehicle demand. The authors emphasize that these actions require capable governance and sustainable funding models to move cities from a vicious cycle of car-dependency to a virtuous cycle of balanced, multimodal transport.
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Document type: Research paper
Nature of Risk: A Framework for Understanding Nature-Related Risk to Business
The report establishes a framework for understanding nature-related risk to business (NRR), defining it as risks arising when changes in a company's impacts on or dependencies on nature become threats due to exposure and vulnerability. It categorizes these risks into five types: physical, regulatory and legal, market, reputational, and financial. Through a review of over 70 sources and four case studies (BP, Vale, German exporters in South Africa, and PG&E), the document demonstrates how environmental degradation can lead to severe financial losses, operational disruptions, and bankruptcy. It emphasizes that nature-related risks and climate risks are 'twin emergencies' that are mutually reinforcing.
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Document type: Report
Nature of Risk
The report establishes a framework for nature-related risk (NRR), defining it as the result of changes in a business's dependencies on or impacts on nature that become threats due to the company's exposure and vulnerability. It identifies five primary risk types: physical, regulatory & legal, market, reputational, and financial. Through a review of over 70 sources, the report highlights that sectors such as food and beverage, metals and mining, and oil and gas face the highest risks. Case studies of BP, Vale, PG&E, and German exporters illustrate how these risks materialize into multi-billion dollar liabilities, bankruptcy, or lost revenue.
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Document type: Report
How do we prioritize when making decisions about development and disaster risk?
The document presents a framework for understanding the trade-offs inherent in development and disaster risk reduction (DRR), arguing that poorly planned development can increase vulnerability while disasters can erase development gains. It introduces five dimensions of trade-offs—aggregation, participation, equity, time, and risk—and demonstrates their application to the 'Build Back Better' concept to identify opportunities for more resilient, proactive governance.
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Document type: Briefing
agroecología: innovaciones para sistemas agrícolas y alimentarios sustentables
The executive summary advocates for agroecology as a holistic alternative to the dominant industrial agri-food model, which it links to environmental degradation and climate change. It proposes a 13-criteria framework to evaluate the sustainability of innovations, emphasizing social justice, gender equality, and environmental health. The text contrasts agroecology with 'false solutions' like climate-smart agriculture and provides a detailed set of policy recommendations for governments to support small-scale producers, protect biodiversity, and transition away from industrial agrofuels.
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Document type: Executive summary
agroécologie : innover pour des systèmes agricoles et alimentaires durables
The report advocates for a paradigm shift in global food systems, proposing a comprehensive 13-criteria framework to evaluate agricultural innovations. It positions agroecology—defined as a science, set of practices, and social movement—as the essential approach to addressing hunger, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The document contrasts agroecology with 'false solutions' like climate-smart agriculture and industrial intensification, which it claims maintain the status quo. It concludes with detailed policy recommendations for governments and international bodies, such as the FAO, to secure land rights, promote gender justice, and support small-scale producers through public investment and the protection of territorial markets.
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Document type: Executive summary
Agroecology: innovating for sustainable agriculture & food systems
The report advocates for a paradigm shift from industrial agri-business models to agroecology to address global hunger, environmental degradation, and climate change. It proposes a 13-point evaluation framework to assess sustainable innovations and warns against 'false solutions' like climate-smart agriculture. The document concludes with detailed policy recommendations for governments to secure land rights, ensure gender justice, and shift subsidies toward agroecological practices to achieve food sovereignty.
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Document type: Executive summary
Local Content Policies in the Mining Sector: Stimulating direct local employment
The document examines how host governments can stimulate direct local employment in mining to drive socioeconomic growth and maintain a social licence to operate. It outlines a five-step process for developing local employment policies: assessing the sector's role in national development, evaluating labour supply and demand, setting goals, formulating policies, and monitoring outcomes. The report categorizes interventions into regulatory 'stick' policies—such as employment quotas, mandated training, and visa restrictions—and facilitative 'carrot' policies, including bidding preferences, fiscal incentives, and support for training facilities. It emphasizes the need for context-specific strategies that address gender inequality and the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, while warning that automation and technological trends may shift future workforce requirements.
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Document type: Report
Designing Local Content Policies in Mineral-Rich Countries
The report analyzes local content policies (LCPs) used by mineral-rich nations to increase the use of domestic labor, goods, and services in the mining sector. It details various policy instruments—ranging from mandatory quotas and ownership requirements to government incentives and voluntary business initiatives—and examines their practical application in countries such as Norway, Chile, Ghana, and Brazil. The document argues that LCPs often fail when implemented as blanket provisions without clear objectives or sufficient industrial capacity. It identifies critical prerequisites for success, including institutional readiness, a favorable business climate, and a long-term vision that transcends political cycles. The report concludes that effective LCPs require a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures, robust monitoring through key performance indicators, and strong partnerships between governments, mining firms, and local suppliers to ensure sustainable economic diversification.
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Document type: Report
Strong foundations
The report examines the intersection of insurance and property markets in sub-Saharan Africa, identifying a gap between the theoretical potential of insurance to mitigate risks and provide financing and the actual low level of insurance penetration. It maps the property value chain—from land assembly to sale—and details the risks (credit, macroeconomic, political, and climate) and constraints (administrative bottlenecks and limited finance) that hinder development. Using Zambia as a case study, the report argues that while insurance can offer products like political risk insurance and performance bonds, its role is currently limited by the underdeveloped nature of the property markets themselves and a lack of aggregated, liquid investment vehicles that suit institutional insurers.
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Document type: Report
A Systems Approach to Accelerating Climate Finance: Exploring Methods and Approaches to Systems Thinking in Climate Finance
The research paper advocates for a systems approach to climate finance to move beyond linear data tracking and address the complexities of developing country financial markets. It introduces a framework that categorizes actors into public finance, private finance, systemic enablers, and service providers, mapping their interrelationships through financial flows, mandates, and information. The paper identifies systemic trends in developing countries—such as bank dominance, short-termism, and capital volatility—and demonstrates how specific systemic actions (like ESG disclosure mandates) can catalyze private finance. Finally, it uses social network analysis of 2013-2014 data to identify key influencers and connectors within the international public finance sub-system to improve coordination.
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Document type: Research paper
Framing Stranded Assets: Age of Disruption
The report addresses the risk of stranded assets resulting from the sustainability transition, arguing that while 'green finance' for new technologies is well-documented, there is insufficient focus on the 'old' industries and assets that may become unusable. It introduces a methodology for the financial industry to quantify these risks to reduce unnecessary investment and negative social consequences.
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Document type: Report
Built to Last
The report argues that California's public infrastructure is deteriorating and based on outdated historical climate data, making it vulnerable to a 'new normal' of extreme heat, sea level rise, wildfires, and erratic precipitation. It proposes a 'climate-smart' framework based on rigorous science, equitable outcomes, financial transparency, and holistic planning. Key barriers identified include outdated design codes, a lack of actionable climate data for engineers, and systemic underinvestment in underserved communities. The author recommends updating state standards, establishing a centralized coordinating center for climate information, and adopting innovative financing mechanisms like resilience bonds to protect critical services and vulnerable populations.
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Document type: Report
ENHANCING NDCS BY 2020: ACHIEVING THE GOALS OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT
The document argues that the window to close the gap between current greenhouse gas emissions trajectories and the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement is narrowing. It proposes a framework of options for Parties to update their NDCs by 2020, focusing on increasing mitigation ambition, strengthening adaptation plans, improving implementation, and enhancing the clarity and transparency of their commitments.
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Document type: Research paper
Financing clean power: a risk-based approach to choosing ownership models & policy/finance instruments
The paper argues that the cost of the energy transition can be reduced by allocating specific investment risks—such as construction, price, and curtailment—to the party best equipped to manage them, whether public entities, private investors, or consumers. It suggests that moving away from a binary choice between public and private finance toward a risk-based allocation approach can lead to significant cost efficiencies.
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Document type: Research paper
THE LOCAL BUSINESS CASE FOR CLIMATE ACTION
The paper identifies five key levers—power and leadership, communication and engagement, capacity building, financing implementation, and demonstration effect—essential for successful climate action in cities. Drawing on seven CDKN-supported projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, it argues that city governments face significant barriers, including short political cycles, fragmented governance, and limited financial resources. The framework serves as a checklist for donors and practitioners to create investable and implementable climate propositions, highlighting the importance of local champions, tailored business cases, and cross-city collaboration to scale successful interventions like India's Heat Action Plans.
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Document type: Research paper