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This 2017 industry brief by GreenCape examines the financial viability, financing options, and regulatory landscape for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations for businesses in the Western Cape, South Africa. It highlights the role of local government policy, decreasing technology costs, and electricity price increases in driving adoption across the retail, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors.

This briefing from the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines strategies to build climate-resilient urban food systems, focusing on the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. It argues that strengthening local food production and diversifying supply chains can mitigate risks posed by extreme weather and global supply shocks.

This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) explores how citizen science—the collaboration between scientists and volunteers to answer real-world questions—can support the implementation, monitoring, and definition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It details the different types of citizen science projects, their benefits for data collection and public engagement, and strategies to overcome challenges regarding data quality and statistical validity.

This policy brief summarizes the findings and recommendations from a regional meeting held in Colombia in September 2017, focused on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America. The document identifies key challenges such as institutional vulnerability to government changes, sectoral silos, and limited local ownership, while highlighting best practices in harmonization, multi-stakeholder cooperation, and budgetary monitoring across several Latin American countries.

This report summarizes an information session held by WWF South Africa on October 18, 2017, focused on water saving and stewardship for agricultural producers in the Western Cape. It addresses the critical water scarcity facing the region, the role of producers as stewards of shared water resources, and practical technological and biological methods to improve water use efficiency and mitigate climate risks.

This case study describes how the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) in northern New Mexico established a voluntary goal to meet 100 percent of its summer peak electricity demand with solar power by 2023.

The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II (RDCP II), a five-year project implemented by Land O’Lakes across 17 districts in Rwanda, aimed to reduce poverty by improving the production and marketing of quality milk. While the program led to an overall increase in total annual GHG emissions due to larger herd sizes and increased cow weight, it significantly reduced the GHG emission intensity per liter of milk produced in both extensive and intensive production systems.

This chapter from the 'Research Handbook on International Law and Natural Resources' examines 'problem shifting'—the transfer of environmental problems resulting from sustainable natural resource management practices—and evaluates the capacity of international law to mitigate these risks in the Anthropocene.

This case study by the Center for International Environmental Law examines how coal mining in South Africa's Mpumalanga province threatens access to clean water and food, disproportionately impacting women. It highlights the gap between protective legal frameworks and the reality of corporate impunity and government failure to enforce environmental laws.

This briefing by Friends of the Earth International examines the financial and regulatory impacts of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms on countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It argues that ISDS allows foreign corporations to sue governments over public interest regulations, creating significant financial burdens and a 'regulatory chill' that undermines democracy and the right to regulate.

This report by Natural Justice examines the use of community protocols as tools for indigenous peoples and local communities to manage their rights and engage with extractive industries. Based on action research in Argentina, India, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, the document analyzes how these protocols help communities articulate their values, secure free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and address power imbalances with governments and corporations.

This report examines fossil fuel subsidy reform and the adoption of policy instruments to promote renewable energy, focusing on specific case studies from Ethiopia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, and Nordic countries.

The paper introduces EconWEAP, a model integrating the State Wide Economic Agricultural Production Model (SWAP) and the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system to analyze the economic and hydrological impacts of climate change on water resource allocations.

This briefing by Friends of the Earth International argues that the pursuit of 'dirty energy'—including fossil fuels, nuclear power, and megadams—is causing severe environmental and social harm across Africa while failing to resolve energy poverty. The document highlights specific case studies of destructive energy projects in South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, and Mozambique, and calls for a transition toward community-controlled renewable energy and 'energy sovereignty'.

This report by Friends of the Earth International examines the impacts of 'dirty energy'—including coal, oil, gas, nuclear, and mega-dams—across the African continent. It argues that these energy systems exacerbate climate change, cause severe health and environmental damage, and fail to provide universal energy access, while often benefiting corporate elites over local communities.

This case study examines the development and scaling of M-Shwari, a mobile-based savings and loans product in Kenya created through a partnership between the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and Safaricom. It details how FSD Kenya acted as a market facilitator, providing research and technical expertise to help CBA design a product tailored to low-income consumers, ultimately expanding formal financial access to millions of Kenyans.

This policy briefing examines climate adaptation readiness in the agricultural sector of South Africa's Western Cape province following the 2015/2016 El Niño-linked drought. It argues that while comprehensive policy frameworks for disaster risk reduction and management exist, implementation is hindered by bureaucratic bottlenecks, insufficient funding, and a persistent focus on short-term relief over long-term resilience. The document highlights the success of conservation agriculture among grain farmers and calls for strengthened intergovernmental cooperation and adaptive water resource planning.

This working paper by the Climate Policy Initiative, supported by PILAR and UNPAR, proposes a framework for district-level natural capital assessment in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. It argues that current land valuations underestimate the true value of ecosystem services and are hindered by inconsistent government regulations and data gaps. The paper recommends a pilot assessment in Kotawaringin Timur due to its high concentration of palm oil infrastructure and critical high conservation value areas.

This briefing discusses how domestic seed companies and small businesses in developing countries can enhance climate risk management (CRM) within agricultural value chains by investing in quality, climate-resilient seeds and complementary services.

This case study describes the National Energy Transition Strategy (NETS) for Saint Lucia, highlighting how a diversified portfolio of renewable energy and efficiency measures can reduce costs and emissions compared to diesel-reliant systems.