Search Climate Insights Directory

This briefing by RMI argues that shifting the focus from individual net-zero energy buildings to net-zero energy districts allows for greater cost-effectiveness, better grid integration, and optimized clean mobility through urban-scale planning.

This case study describes the collaboration between Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the Lodha Group to apply a net-zero energy (NZE) district design framework to Palava City, a large-scale greenfield development near Mumbai, India. The project aims to demonstrate how integrated design across energy, mobility, and water systems can create sustainable, high-density urban environments in emerging markets.

Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation in Saskatchewan utilized the Pathways to Climate Change Resilience Guidebook to develop a climate adaptation plan following severe flooding in 2005, 2007, and 2011. By integrating Traditional Knowledge and partnering with entities like the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Research Council, the community identified risks—including extreme heat and precipitation variability—and implemented infrastructure improvements such as expanded drainage systems and water quality research.

This report describes a Solutions Workshop held in June 2019 as part of the Urban Mobility Lab initiative in Delhi. The initiative, a partnership between the Delhi government (via the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi) and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), aims to design and scale clean, shared, and people-centric mobility solutions to support the city's transition to electric vehicles and reduce vehicular pollution.

This research paper, commissioned by the Global Commission on Adaptation, argues that Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) is a critical mechanism for achieving climate change adaptation by coordinating agriculture, forests, water, biodiversity, and energy sectors. It details the limitations of siloed sectoral approaches and proposes a framework for multi-stakeholder coordination, strategic planning, and integrated investment to build organizational and ecological resilience.

This case study by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) examines the effectiveness of Challenge Funds (CF) in building resilience. It synthesizes lessons from GRP's own 'Global Resilience Challenge' and 'Water Window Challenge' alongside a literature review of various international funds. The document provides a framework for the four stages of a Challenge Fund—design, selection, implementation, and scaling—and offers specific recommendations to improve the delivery of resilience outcomes, emphasizing the need for flexibility, local partnership, and long-term scaling strategies.

This report synthesizes the results of ten projects funded under Round 1 (R1) of the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), which were supported by USAID. The projects focused on transforming risks from climate shocks and stresses into opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. The synthesis evaluates progress across four Impact Pathways: policy influencing, finance and investment, innovation and scaling, and knowledge and partnership. Key outcomes include the support of over 5 million beneficiaries, the development of innovative digital and financial tools, and the empowerment of vulnerable groups, including women and people with disabilities.

This policy brief examines the role of inter-sectoral collaboration and coordination in preventing violence in South Africa, using the Western Cape's After School Game Changer (ASGC) as a primary case study. It argues that violence prevention requires a holistic approach involving government, NGOs, and academic institutions to provide safe environments and life skills for youth, particularly in impoverished areas.

This research paper examines the role of digital financial services (DFS) in promoting financial inclusion, with a detailed case study on South Africa. It explores the global benefits and risks of digitisation, South Africa's progress toward its National Development Plan targets, and the broader opportunities for digital financial transition across the African continent.

This case study describes Smiling Through Light, a social enterprise founded by Mariama Kamara to increase electricity access in Sierra Leone through a women-led business model that trains local women as solar technology entrepreneurs.

This case study by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates how integrated land use and energy technology policies in eastern Africa can simultaneously advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to climate action, health, and energy access.

This case study by Natural Justice reflects on the legal victory where the National Environment Tribunal (NET) in Kenya blocked the construction of the Lamu Coal Fired Power Plant by setting aside its environmental license due to inadequate public participation and the omission of climate change assessments.

This case study details a 2019 South Gauteng High Court judgment in which an application by the Distressed Mining Community of Ogies to stop Glencore Operations South Africa (Pty) Ltd from creating a nuisance through coal mine blasting was dismissed.

This policy brief examines the Tanzania Urban Resilience Programme (TURP) and its efforts to build climate resilience in the Msimbazi Basin of Dar es Salaam. It highlights the shift from hard-engineering to nature-based solutions, the importance of stakeholder engagement, and strategic project framing to secure diverse funding sources.

This policy brief examines the intersection of mining, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and the transition to a low-carbon circular economy, using South Africa as a primary case study. It argues that while a low-carbon future requires increased mineral extraction, this must be decoupled from environmental degradation through green industrialisation and technological innovation.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) advocates for "subsidy swaps," the process of redirecting government financial support from fossil fuels to clean energy. It argues that while removing fossil fuel subsidies can reduce emissions, a swap is necessary to ensure permanent reductions and provide economic, social, and health benefits. The document analyzes the global context of these shifts and provides case studies from India, Indonesia, Zambia, and Morocco to demonstrate the feasibility of reallocating resources to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

This research paper examines the implementation of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Africa, using Zambia as a primary case study. It analyzes the benefits of trade facilitation for landlocked lower-middle-income countries, the role of the TFA Facility and donor assistance, and the specific challenges and successes of trade facilitation reforms at four of Zambia's strategic border posts.

This briefing argues that the European Union's (EU) reliance on 'formalisation'—increasing legalisation and transparency—in natural resource governance has failed to improve human wellbeing in producer countries. Using case studies from Sierra Leone's diamond sector and Liberia's forest sector, the author contends that these technocratic approaches often ignore local socio-political contexts and fail to deliver tangible benefits to affected populations. The document calls for the EU to adopt a 'human security' approach, shifting focus from state security to the security of individuals, specifically targeting freedom from want and fear.

This case study examines how updated, lower cost projections for renewable energy and battery storage could allow Canada to increase the ambition of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) emissions target.

This research paper examines the implementation, transfer, and upscaling of the nexus approach—an integrated method for managing land, water, and energy—through five case studies in Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco.