Search Climate Insights Directory

The document outlines eight categories of barriers to climate change adaptation—ranging from conflicting timelines and lack of resources to institutional constraints and climate skepticism—and provides a self-assessment questionnaire and a directory of resources to help local authorities implement adaptation measures.

The document identifies eight categories of barriers to climate adaptation: conflicting timescales/interests, leadership, resources, science, governance/institutional constraints, lack of awareness/communication, attitudes/values/motivations, and the adaptation process itself. It provides a self-evaluation survey for local authorities to identify their specific challenges and offers a curated list of resources and critical discussion questions to facilitate stakeholder engagement and problem-solving. Findings from CASCADE workshops indicate that spatial planners in the Baltic Sea Region perceive financial resource shortages as a primary barrier, while emergency management practitioners highlight climate skepticism as a significant challenge.

The document identifies key obstacles to the growth of Indonesia's green bond market, including currency hedging costs, market illiquidity, and a lack of bankable green projects. It provides a roadmap of solutions involving government subsidies, MDB credit enhancements, and regulatory reforms to attract international investors.

The report highlights a significant gap between current adaptation finance—totaling USD 22 billion annually in 2015-16—and the estimated USD 140 billion to USD 300 billion needed per year by 2030 for developing countries. It identifies context, business model, and internal capacity barriers that hinder private and public investment. To address these, the report recommends improving climate risk disclosure, harmonizing tracking methodologies, and deploying innovative financial instruments such as resilient infrastructure bonds and index insurance.

The report evaluates the CAPEX loan model as a way to scale rooftop solar for Indian MSMEs, who struggle with the high upfront costs of the CAPEX cash model and the bankability issues of the RESCO model. Analysis shows the CAPEX loan model can be up to 14% cheaper than the RESCO model, primarily due to accelerated depreciation benefits. However, adoption is hindered by lender disinterest—driven by perceived credit risks and high transaction costs for small projects—and a lack of awareness among MSMEs. The authors recommend implementing partial risk guarantee funds, mandatory O&M contracts, EPC performance guarantees, and standardized solar loan products to mitigate these risks and reduce costs.

The document identifies critical barriers to sustainable charcoal in Kenya, including limited financing for reforestation and efficient kilns, weak enforcement of the 2009 Forest (Charcoal) Rules due to systemic corruption, and low capacity among producer associations to comply with complex regulations. It highlights a significant supply-demand gap, with demand estimated at 16.3 million m3 against a supply of 7.4 million m3, and notes that while alternative fuels like LPG and ethanol are available, they remain accessible primarily to high-income households.

The report identifies three categories of barriers to the growth of adaptation and resilience companies in developing countries: context barriers (policy, institutional, and market environments), business model barriers (uncertainty of value-add, high costs, and lack of technical capacity), and internal capacity barriers (management and operational gaps). Through case studies of Planalytics and JBA Consulting, and a mapping of 41 TA facilities, the authors recommend a TA facility structure consisting of three support lines: Preparation (technology transfer and business planning), Partnerships (market development and stakeholder linkages), and Resilient Systems (policy studies and impact methodologies). This framework is applied to the design of the CRAFT Resilience Accelerator, a proposed USD 20 million facility linked to a USD 500 million private equity fund.

India requires approximately USD 450 billion in additional capital by 2040 to reach a renewable energy capacity of 480 GW. The report argues that the sector has matured from a high-risk, high-growth stage to a low-medium risk profile with predictable yields, making it highly attractive for institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies. While India offers higher excess returns (3.5%) than the US (2.4%) and China (1%), significant barriers persist, most notably off-taker risk from DISCOMs, currency devaluation, and a lack of liquid financial securities. The authors propose solutions including transparent payment security mechanisms, FX hedging facilities, and the securitization of loan portfolios to attract large-scale institutional capital.

The report finds that while Estonia's building sector is relatively well-controlled due to existing regulations, a 19% further reduction in energy consumption is needed to meet 2030 EU targets. In contrast, the transport sector's energy demand is projected to grow by 18% by 2030 under business-as-usual conditions, failing both national and EU targets. The most effective interventions identified are large-scale building shell renovations and the adoption of fuel-efficient, electric, and hybrid vehicles.

The document outlines cross-cutting barriers to energy efficiency in Estonia, categorized as social, cultural, economic, educational, and institutional. It concludes that without additional policy measures, Estonia will fail to meet its 2020 energy efficiency target. While 2020 GHG targets for the non-ETS sector are likely to be met, achieving 2030 targets will require significant interventions, including the renovation of 40% of single-family and 50% of multi-family houses, as well as improved fuel efficiency and spatial planning in the transport sector.

The report identifies a diverse but fragmented ecosystem of 174 initiatives aiming to integrate gender diversity and social inclusion into the sustainable energy transition. While significant activity exists—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia—the sector is hindered by a lack of multi-year funding, limited technical capacity among women, and restrictive social norms. The document argues that empowering women is a catalyst for energy access, noting that women influence 80% of household energy purchasing decisions, and calls for a shift toward rights-based approaches and strategic cross-sector partnerships to achieve universal energy access by 2030.

The report analyzes the third party financing model for rooftop solar in India, where developers install and own systems and sell power to consumers via long-term agreements. While the model is financially viable in most states for industrial and commercial segments—often achieving grid parity without incentives—its growth is hindered by limited debt finance, consumer credit risk, and inconsistent net metering implementation. The report suggests policy interventions such as training bank officials, involving DISCOMs in power purchase agreements, and creating specialized dispute courts, alongside financial instruments like peer-to-peer lending platforms and green bond securitization.

The report identifies the California water sector as a major electricity consumer, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the state's demand. It argues that while growing needs for groundwater pumping, desalination, and water recycling increase energy intensity, utilities can mitigate this by investing in on-site renewables, power purchase agreements, and demand response services. Key barriers include a lack of standardized electricity source data, regulatory misalignment, and financial constraints like Proposition 218.

The GSA's National Deep Energy Retrofit (NDER) program demonstrated that deep energy retrofits can achieve significantly higher savings than typical federal projects, with Round 1 projects averaging 38% energy savings compared to 21% in other agencies. The report details a collaborative workshop held in April 2014 to identify process improvements, technical barriers, and economic strategies to reach the goal of 50% or more energy savings. Key recommendations include adopting integrative design, incorporating operations and maintenance (O&M) into performance contracts, and combining energy efficiency upgrades with appropriated renovation funds.

Institutional investors manage approximately $71 trillion in OECD assets, but their ability to fund renewable energy is constrained by liquidity needs, fund size, and policy barriers. While they could potentially cover all corporate equity and debt needs for renewables, their capacity for direct project investment is limited to roughly 24% of equity and 49% of debt requirements. The report suggests five steps to unlock this potential: fixing policy barriers, improving investor practices, modifying regulatory constraints, developing better pooled investment vehicles, and encouraging corporate investors.

The document outlines the top ten business constraints in the SADC region, identified by collating results from Business Climate Surveys and Investment Climate Assessments. These barriers range from financial and regulatory issues to infrastructure and corruption, all of which contribute to an economic climate that is not conducive to investment. The findings serve as a basis for firm-level case studies across various sectors and member states to further explore these constraints.

The document introduces the 'Smart Garage' concept—the convergence of electrified vehicles, smart grids, and building energy systems—and provides a framework for a stakeholder charrette to overcome implementation barriers. RMI's financial modeling suggests that while basic convenience charging (V0G) is costly, integrated scenarios like Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) can be profitable, with V2B estimated at a net present value of $34B. The briefing identifies critical technical and business barriers, such as battery costs and lack of standardization, and outlines 'hot topics' for debate, including control of charging and the role of government subsidies.

The report examines the role of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) in promoting energy efficiency in developing countries. While the ESCO model—where remuneration is linked to energy savings—has succeeded in developed nations and recently in China, it faces significant hurdles elsewhere. Key barriers include limited access to financing, high transaction costs, government policy disincentives such as energy subsidies, and a lack of technical and financial human resources. The document details the impact of international agencies like the World Bank and domestic government programs in countries such as Brazil, India, and South Korea. It recommends a combination of loan guarantees, the elimination of energy price subsidies, the creation of standardized contracts, and the development of domestic commercial banking capacity to sustain the industry.

The report identifies significant barriers to deep energy efficiency retrofits in the U.S. commercial sector, primarily centered on financing, a lack of performance data, and split incentives. While 71% of surveyed stakeholders express high interest in deep retrofits, the private sector remains risk-averse, often requiring short payback periods of 2-4 years. The study concludes that providing targeted informational resources, such as case studies and improved energy modeling tools, is essential to reduce perceived risks and stimulate industry-wide activity.

The document analyzes the Brazilian freight transportation sector, which is heavily reliant on road transport. It evaluates the National Plan for Logistics and Transport (PNLT), estimating that an 'ideal' modal shift toward rail and waterways by 2025 could reduce GHG emissions by over 40% compared to a business-as-usual scenario. However, the study identifies significant barriers, including a complex dual-taxation system on multimodal transport, a deeply embedded 'road culture' supported by a strong truck manufacturing industry, and regulatory inconsistencies between transport agencies. It proposes a set of input, process, output, and outcome indicators to monitor the plan's progress and the resulting energy efficiency and emission reductions.