Search Climate Insights Directory
84 results
Promoting Technology Transfer and Deployment for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Ghana
The report identifies that while Ghana has a target of 10% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020, progress is hindered by implementation and roll-out barriers, including weak domestic technical capacity, inadequate regulatory frameworks, and limited access to long-term finance. It suggests a combination of market-mandated policies, the use of the Clean Development Mechanism, and the establishment of innovation centres to accelerate technology adoption. The study estimates that removing these barriers with international support could avoid at least 14 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from renewable energy projects and 70,000 tonnes from energy efficiency activities.
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Document type: Case study
Energy Efficiency in the Low Income Homes of South Africa
The report identifies significant financial, institutional, and skill-based barriers that prevent the scale-up of energy-efficient low-income housing in South Africa, despite the availability of simple passive thermal improvements and solar water heaters. It argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an unsustainable model for these projects due to low carbon prices and dispersed savings. Instead, the author proposes 'Direct Support' mechanisms—including framework support for government institutions, project support for developers, and micro-finance/insurance models for homeowners—to provide upfront capital and capacity building. The paper also recommends establishing national energy performance standards and vocational training to bridge the gap between policy and implementation.
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Document type: Research paper
Large-scale Rollout of Concentrating Solar Power in South Africa
The document outlines a three-phase deployment of CSP in South Africa, targeting 100 GW of capacity by 2050 to save 3,850 Mt CO2-eq. It identifies critical barriers in technology, regulation, and infrastructure, specifically highlighting the need for grid expansion in the north-west and the operationalization of the Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff (REFIT). The authors argue that international financial support is essential to overcome high investment costs and risk, proposing specific funding mechanisms for R&D and infrastructure.
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Document type: Report
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Developing Countries
The report analyzes energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potentials for six major developing countries through 2030. It projects that baseline energy-sector emissions for these nations could double to approximately 17 metric gigatons of CO2 equivalent by 2030, representing over 40% of global energy-related GHG emissions. The study identifies high-potential mitigation options across four sectors: electricity production, transportation, buildings and appliances, and industry. Common high-potential strategies across all six countries include renewable energy development, vehicle efficiency standards, and the enforcement of building and appliance energy codes. The report emphasizes that while many low-cost options exist, significant barriers remain, including high up-front capital costs, limited technical capacity, and the need for international technology transfer.
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Document type: Research paper
Smart Garage Charrette Report
The Smart Garage report describes a system where electrified vehicles (xEVs) communicate with the grid and buildings to optimize energy use. The document identifies a near-term focus on 'V1G' (smart one-way charging) as a practical first step toward a long-term 'V2G' (bi-directional charging) vision. It analyzes the ecosystem's value chain—including OEMs, utilities, and 'connectors'—and identifies five primary barriers: uncertain consumer demand, high battery costs, infrastructure funding, fragmented utility regulation, and a lack of communication standards. To address these, the report proposes six collaborative projects to quantify demand, analyze battery second-life value, and establish national policy frameworks.
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Document type: Report
BARRIERS AND BREAKTHROUGHS FOR MULTI-TENANT DEVELOPMENTS
The report identifies the 'split' between construction, operational, and management costs as the primary hurdle to greening multi-tenant buildings. It argues that integrated design can achieve high performance without increasing capital costs, ultimately benefiting owners through higher net operating income and tenants through lower total occupancy costs. Proposed solutions include 'green leases' with cost pass-through clauses, sub-metering, and the use of Energy Service Companies (ESCos) to finance retrofits.
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Document type: Report
Mainstreaming adaptation to climate change - what hope for Ethiopia’s water sector?
The document examines Ethiopia's efforts to integrate climate adaptation into national policy, specifically highlighting the water sector as the primary medium for climate impacts. While Ethiopia has established a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) and is developing the Carbon Neutral Climate Resilience Ethiopia (CNCR-E) programme, progress is hindered by resource shortages, fragmented governance across ministries, and technical capacity constraints. The text warns that international finance mechanisms focusing on 'additional' funding may inadvertently encourage peripheral 'add-on' projects rather than integrating adaptation into routine sector planning and budgeting.
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Document type: Briefing
1104_Country_study_VietnamV10x
Vietnam faces high vulnerability to climate change and rapidly growing emissions, projected to reach 387 Mt by 2030, primarily driven by energy supply. While the government has established the National Target Program and various energy efficiency laws, the report finds that existing and planned projects are likely to harvest only 12% of the available abatement potential between 2015 and 2030. Major barriers include low electricity and coal prices, limited technical and financial capacity among stakeholders, and institutional overlaps. The study recommends a coordinated national mitigation programme and specific sector-level interventions in REDD+, wind policy, industrial energy efficiency, and waste management.
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Document type: Case study
Inclusive Climate Finance: Improving Access for Marginalized Populations in Indonesia
The report finds that Indonesia's climate finance is dominated by a top-down approach favoring large-scale energy projects, leaving marginalized groups with limited access. While philanthropic funds target these groups, they are insufficient in scale. The authors argue for a blended finance approach and specific 'enablers'—such as capacity building and policy reform—to shift from purely philanthropic to more commercial financing for social impact.
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Document type: Report
Desafíos y propuestas para la electrificación total del Transporte Público Mayor del Gran Valparaíso
The document concludes that a 100% electric fleet in Greater Valparaíso by 2040 is technically feasible but depends on overcoming structural barriers, most notably the critical shortage of charging infrastructure and electrical grid capacity. It highlights that while electric buses can handle the city's steep slopes with specific mechanical adjustments, the current atomized operator model is incompatible with the required investment scale. The report proposes a transition based on the 'Licitación 2025' model, which separates assets from operation, and suggests a phased roadmap including the creation of a regional technical office and a dynamic demand model. It also draws lessons from international experiences in the Netherlands, China, Colombia, and Santiago, emphasizing the role of state-led land management and innovative financing to reduce CAPEX risks.
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Document type: Report
Endorser Perspectives Report: Progress, Challenges and Enabling Conditions for Action
The report identifies eight key lessons from NYDF endorsers, highlighting that slow implementation of deforestation-free commitments is driven by barriers requiring multi-sectoral solutions. It emphasizes the necessity of strong governance, land tenure, and multi-stakeholder partnerships, while noting that current financial investments are insufficient. The document calls for renewed ambition and accountability to reverse deforestation trends, noting that nearly two-thirds of consulted endorsers have post-2020 action plans.
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Document type: Report
Superefficient Affordable Housing
The report identifies a significant gap in energy efficiency within US affordable housing, noting that public housing is 38% more inefficient than private residential buildings. It categorizes barriers into programmatic (regulatory and information gaps), financial (funding backlogs and complex mixed-financing), technical (lack of integrative design and energy modeling), and operational (tenant incentives and lack of retro-commissioning). To address these, the report recommends streamlining HUD's Energy Performance Contract (EPC) processes, adopting life-cycle cost analysis, utilizing a 'whole-building' design approach, and implementing retro-commissioning, which can reduce energy consumption by a median of 16% with a fast payback period.
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Document type: Report
Battery Balance of System Charrette Post-Charrette Report
The Battery Balance of System Charrette report identifies critical barriers to the scaling of behind-the-meter (BTM) energy storage in the U.S., specifically focusing on high non-cell costs, lack of standardization, and limited monetization opportunities. The document outlines a framework for reducing 'balance of system' (BBoS) costs through hardware standardization, streamlined interconnection and permitting, and the creation of new distribution-level markets for aggregated storage services.
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Document type: Report
Assessing Clean Energy Opportunities Through Demand Aggregation in Bengaluru’s Apartment Buildings
The study of ten apartment complexes in Bengaluru found that rooftop solar could meet the entire annual electricity demand for common services in 80% of the sites. Water pumping assets represent the largest electricity load, accounting for 45% of the total connected common area load across the studied complexes. Despite this potential, adoption is hindered by low incentives due to subsidized domestic tariffs in Karnataka, a lack of maintained energy data, and a priority on other budgetary items like waste management over energy efficiency.
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Document type: Research paper
Seven Barriers to U.S. Business Leadership on Climate Policy and How to Break Them Down
The document argues that voluntary corporate climate action is insufficient and that U.S. businesses must transition to active climate policy advocacy to meet 1.5C goals. It details seven specific barriers—ranging from internal organizational silos and short-term financial pressures to external pressures from trade associations and political instability—that hinder Fortune 500 companies from aligning their government affairs agendas with their sustainability goals.
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Document type: Research paper
Prosumers in Bengaluru: Lessons for Scaling Rooftop Solar PV
The document examines the adoption of rooftop solar PV by 'prosumers' in Bengaluru, managed by the utility BESCOM. While a net-metering program introduced in November 2014 has achieved over 5.6 MW of grid-connected capacity as of March 2016, the paper argues that adoption must accelerate to meet Karnataka's 400 MW state target for 2018. It identifies six primary barriers to scaling, including poor understanding of costs and payback, confusion over net-metering specifications, and limited institutional capacity of the program administrator.
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Document type: Research paper
A Guidebook for Businesses on Nature
The World Resources Institute's guidebook introduces the ARK and SPARK frameworks to help businesses move from nature-related commitments to tangible action. Based on input from 41 corporate actors, the guide outlines a five-step process for identifying nature-related risks and opportunities, prioritizing actions, securing internal support, refining operational mechanisms, and evaluating outcomes. It also identifies key internal enablers, such as leadership commitment and governance structures, and external drivers, including regulatory pressure and investor demand, while addressing barriers like financing constraints and the difficulty of articulating a clear business case for nature investments.
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Document type: Guide
Barriers to Adopting Electric Buses
The report analyzes 16 global case studies to map the hazards of electric bus adoption, highlighting critical gaps in operational knowledge, procurement flexibility, and institutional authority.
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Document type: Report
Information for Climate Change Adaptation
The document examines the challenges of producing and using climate adaptation information in South Asia, noting that information is often supply-driven by researchers rather than tailored to user needs. It outlines the objectives of a regional workshop convened by the World Resources Institute and Development Alternatives to identify investment priorities and improve dialogue between information producers and users.
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Document type: Research paper
China Energy Efficiency Financing
The China Energy Efficiency Financing project, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI), addresses the lack of access to reasonable financing for industrial energy efficiency (EE) projects in China. While the top 1,000 energy-using enterprises receive significant attention, smaller industrial companies struggle with internal capacity to identify financeable projects and securing external funding. To resolve this, WRI and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) are exploring a model to bundle individual EE projects into a portfolio to facilitate financing in Shanghai, with plans to replicate the model in one or two other provinces.
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Document type: Fact sheet