Search Climate Insights Directory

The report outlines a structured path to commercialize superhot rock (SHR) geothermal energy—defined as rock hotter than 400°C—which could produce five to ten times more energy per well than conventional geothermal. It proposes a six-phase road map: establishing governance and a Steering Committee, identifying existing resources, filling technical gaps, iterative testing (modeling, lab, and field), deployment of pilot and commercial projects, and creating a continual improvement life cycle. The report identifies critical technology gaps in well construction, drilling, and heat extraction, noting that addressing these gaps independently would cost approximately $1.4 billion (USD), a figure that could be reduced through shared infrastructure and joint investment. It emphasizes the need for a global information-sharing platform and standardized protocols to avoid duplicating failures and accelerate the learning curve.

The assessment finds that while Somalia is modernizing its legal framework through the 2019 National Minerals Resources Policy and new environmental laws, its mining sector remains predominantly informal and artisanal. Key strengths include a clear fiscal regime for extractives and strong political will to align with international standards. However, significant gaps persist, including an outdated 1984 Mining Code, a lack of a comprehensive mining cadaster, unknown levels of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity, and the cultural exclusion of women from the sector. The report recommends enacting a new Mining Bill, establishing a robust mining inspectorate, and developing a formalization roadmap for ASM.

The briefing highlights that while food systems contribute over 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, there is no cohesive global pathway with clear targets and timelines to reach net zero. Current efforts, such as the FAO roadmap, are deemed insufficient because they omit the need to reduce animal-sourced product consumption and lack key biodiversity targets. The author notes that while over 55 relevant targets exist across frameworks like the Paris Agreement and SDGs, they are disconnected, often non-binding, and lack financial targets. The document calls for a coordinated framework similar to the IEA's energy roadmap to integrate climate, health, and nature goals and minimize trade-offs.

The document outlines the application of the Unlocking a Better Future (UBF) framework to Scotland's policy landscape to support a "net-zero, nature-positive" future. It details a methodology involving the mapping of existing policies against three transformative shifts—redefining the human-nature relationship, ensuring lasting prosperity, and investing in a sustainable future—to identify systemic gaps. Key recommendations include integrating nature-based education, exploring the 'Rights of Nature', and adopting wellbeing-based economic metrics. The framework emphasizes the use of the SDG Synergies tool to manage policy trade-offs and suggests tracking progress through values-based indicators, such as those from the World Values Survey, to monitor deep structural and cultural shifts.

In 2021/22, Nigeria received USD 2.5 billion in climate finance, representing a 32% increase from 2019/20 but leaving an annual finance gap of USD 27.2 billion. Public actors provided 70% of this funding, with multilateral development finance institutions (DFIs) as the largest providers at 48%. Mitigation investments (USD 1.2 billion) dominated, primarily driven by solar PV, while adaptation finance (USD 0.74 billion) covered only 6% of estimated needs. The report highlights a heavy reliance on debt for international public finance and identifies critical barriers such as high capital costs, a lack of bankable projects, and limited green fiscal incentives.

Global climate finance for agrifood systems reached USD 94.9 billion in 2021/22, representing 7.2% of total global climate finance. While flows have increased since 2019/20, the report finds that investment is critically misaligned, with a massive funding gap of USD 1.1 trillion annually required through 2030 to align the sector with climate goals. Growth is heavily concentrated in domestic public investment in China and Europe, while private capital remains largely absent in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Mitigation finance is dominated by energy-related projects like agrivoltaics, while adaptation finance remains heavily reliant on public grants. The report calls for a strategic mix of financial instruments and policy reforms to unlock capital for high-impact solutions such as soil carbon management and nature-based solutions.

The report evaluates Moldova's progress toward climate neutrality by 2050, identifying 'Some Progress' in most sectors but 'Little Progress' in zero pollution. Key challenges include heavy reliance on energy imports, outdated building stock, linear waste management, and a significant financing gap, while enablers include EU accession aspirations and international donor support.

The U.S. public EV charging network grew more than six-fold between 2016 and 2025, reaching nearly 196,000 ports. While California leads in total numbers and northeastern states lead in density, significant coverage gaps remain in the southern, central, and plains regions. To support a projected 33 million EVs by 2030, the U.S. may need 1 million additional public chargers, including 170,000 DC fast chargers.

The report outlines a systematic approach to estimating top-down climate finance needs, distinguishing them from bottom-up needs derived from Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). CPI's methodology involves collecting data from nearly 100 reports, standardizing sector classifications using its Global Landscape of Climate Finance (GLCF) taxonomy, and harmonizing timeframes, currencies, and value types. The document emphasizes that annual climate finance flows must increase significantly, reaching USD 7.5 trillion per year by 2030 and over USD 8.8 trillion per year from 2031 to 2050. It also addresses data gaps in sectors like aviation and wastewater, the inclusion of non-climate solutions like fossil fuel deployment, and the necessity of redirecting capital from high-carbon activities to meet net-zero targets.

The policy brief argues that meeting Paris Agreement goals requires a fivefold increase in urban climate finance to USD 4.3 trillion per year by 2030. It identifies critical barriers to subnational integration, including political misalignment, capacity gaps, and creditworthiness constraints. To address these, the authors present a five-stage 'Urban-inclusive Country Platform Framework' moving from initial engagement to implementation. The brief applies this framework to case studies in Egypt, Brazil, and India, highlighting opportunities to shift from fragmented project-based funding to strategic, programmatic approaches that empower cities as active partners in climate action.

In 2021/22, Nigeria received USD 2.5 billion in climate finance, a 32% increase from 2019/20, yet this remains far below the estimated annual need of USD 29.7 billion. Public actors, led by multilateral development finance institutions, provided 70% of the funding, while private contributions reached 30%, primarily driven by corporate investments in solar PV. Mitigation efforts dominated the landscape, particularly in energy systems, while adaptation finance reached only USD 0.74 billion, covering just 6% of estimated needs. The report highlights critical barriers including high capital costs, a lack of bankable projects, and heavy reliance on debt, which is concerning given Nigeria's substantial debt burden. Key recommendations include operationalizing the National Climate Change Fund, prioritizing anticipatory adaptation, and developing a domestic green industry to reduce import dependence.

The document identifies significant gaps in the implementation of procedural rights necessary to uphold the right to a healthy environment (RtHE) in Southeast Asia. It highlights how ambiguous disclosure requirements, lack of enforcement in environmental impact assessments (EIAs), and resource-constrained judicial bodies hinder environmental justice. The brief showcases emerging community-led assessments and judicial capacity-building efforts as potential solutions, while noting the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment as a key regional entry point for improvement.

The document outlines the role and challenges of project preparation facilities (PPFs) in helping cities develop bankable climate infrastructure projects. It describes a 2024 mapping effort by the CCFLA to update a 2021 gap analysis, focusing on the number and characteristics of PPFs globally across six dimensions: geography, project stages/sectors, assistance types, eligibility thresholds, implementers, and application processes.

The report identifies a severe funding gap in urban adaptation and resilience (A&R), noting that only 1% of tracked urban climate finance in 2021/22 was allocated to adaptation. It prioritizes 12 key challenges across demand-side, supply-side, and enabling environment domains, and maps 37 existing CCFLA member programs. The document highlights critical gaps in late-stage project preparation, private investment mobilization, and the integration of city needs into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). It recommends matchmaking between project preparation facilities and financiers, the creation of business model blueprints, and the alignment of A&R taxonomies to unlock private capital.

The assessment finds that while Bhutan has a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental protection, its mining legal framework is fragmented and outdated. Key strengths include the integration of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and strict forest conservation. However, significant gaps exist in community consultation, fiscal transparency, and the adequacy of mine restoration financial assurances. The report recommends updating the Mines and Minerals Management Act 1995, improving geological data generation, and streamlining the permitting process.

The report assesses the progress of 40 adaptation interventions across various sectors in Ethiopia, finding that nearly 67% of the 64 associated indicators lack current data for tracking. While the health sector shows strong implementation and monitoring, the water, energy, and urban sectors suffer from significant data gaps and institutional capacity constraints. The analysis highlights a critical lack of gender-sensitive indicators, with only six of 64 being gender-sensitive, and recommends expanding the NDC's scope to include the financial, labour affairs, industry, and education sectors to address heat stress and financial exclusion.

The report argues that superhot rock (SHR) geothermal energy, defined as leveraging rocks at 374°C or above, has the potential to provide scalable, renewable baseload power at costs competitive with fossil fuels. While much of the necessary technology exists due to progress in unconventional oil and gas and next-generation geothermal, significant gaps remain in materials science, drilling efficiency, and reservoir stimulation. The most critical need identified is the establishment of laboratory and field facilities to test equipment under actual SHR conditions. Key technical hurdles include improving rates of penetration in hard basement rock, developing casing and cement that can withstand extreme thermal swings and corrosion, and creating reliable fracture networks in the brittle-ductile transition zone (BDTZ). Power production is the most mature segment, with most components at TRL 8-9, though integrated system prototypes and cost-effective turbine designs are still needed.

The report applies the 'Unlocking a Better Future' (UBF) framework to identify policy gaps in Scotland, proposing a holistic approach to transition the economy and society. It recommends strengthening human-nature connectedness, expanding nature-based education, exploring the 'Rights of Nature', and reforming national accounting to move beyond GDP. The document also emphasizes the need for a shift from top-down to bottom-up public engagement to ensure a just transition, while proposing specific indicators to track structural transformation.

Global climate finance reached a record USD 1.9 trillion in 2023, with private contributions exceeding USD 1 trillion for the first time. While mitigation finance more than doubled between 2018 and 2023, driven by energy and transport, adaptation finance remains significantly underfunded at USD 65 billion. Investment is heavily concentrated in East Asia and the Pacific, Western Europe, and North America, with 80% of finance sourced domestically. Despite growth, a substantial gap remains to meet the estimated annual need of USD 6.3 trillion by 2030.

Global energy transition investments reached a record USD 2.4 trillion in 2024, yet remain insufficient to meet the 1.5°C pathway. While solar PV and battery storage show strong growth, other technologies like wind and green hydrogen face significant headwinds. Investment is heavily concentrated in China and advanced economies, leaving least developed countries (LDCs) and Sub-Saharan Africa severely underfunded and dependent on international public finance.