Search Climate Insights Directory

The report posits that national climate change legislation acts as an enabler for international agreements by building government confidence, knowledge, and a desire for competitive parity. Using examples like South Korea, Mexico, and the UK, the authors suggest that domestic targets inform a country's international position and create the political space necessary for a global deal.

The document outlines findings from a project coordinated by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and IISD, focusing on the adoption of carbon management standards in Chinese economic zones. Initial analysis indicates that the uptake of these standards is extremely low and primarily driven by international headquarters or global supply chain clients rather than domestic drivers. The report concludes that a lack of incentives, rather than technical specifications, is the primary barrier to adoption, and suggests enhancing zone capacity and exploring options like public procurement to encourage low-carbon enterprise.

The report assesses avenues for South-South cooperation on climate adaptation, emphasizing the sharing of experiences between China and other developing nations to avoid maladaptation. It concludes that while participant countries can benefit from collaboration with China on climate compatible development, success requires demand-driven work and funding targeted at long-term sustainability to address existing gaps.

The report investigates the gap between the supply of online climate knowledge brokering (CKB) platforms and the actual needs of users. Through a survey of 163 users and case studies of four platforms—AfricaAdapt, Climate Finance Options, Climate Change Policy & Practice, and the Eldis Climate Change Resource Guide—the authors find that platforms are often supply-driven and fail to reach key stakeholders like policy-makers and frontline actors. Users primarily rely on search engines rather than portals and continue to prefer traditional written documents over interactive Web 2.0 tools. The report argues for a shift toward needs-led design and the integration of offline engagement to foster genuine knowledge co-production.

The report examines the challenges and mechanisms for attracting private capital to climate finance, noting that private funding is nearly three times larger than public funding but remains difficult to channel toward adaptation in developing countries. It identifies political, project-related, and financing barriers—particularly in Africa—and suggests a combination of policy reforms and financial instruments like loan guarantees and pledge funds to mitigate risk. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is highlighted as a central vehicle for achieving the $100 billion annual target by 2020, though it must address the funding gap between mitigation and adaptation.

The report examines Kenya's efforts to mainstream climate change resilience into its development planning, highlighting the role of the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP). It details the institutional arrangements, such as the National Climate Change Council, and the use of the 'Threshold 21' model to forecast climate impacts on sectors like agriculture and energy. While political will is evident, the report notes a heavy reliance on unpredictable external donor funding and a need for a stronger legislative backbone to support policy frameworks.

The report examines the increasing pressure on Indonesia's land resources due to national development plans and palm oil expansion. It proposes the use of Natural Capital Assessment (NCA)—a process of mapping social, biophysical, and economic data—to identify land suitable for production while protecting critical ecosystems. The document outlines NCA principles based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, reviews various technical mapping tools, and provides case studies from Kalimantan and Trinidad & Tobago to illustrate the necessity of combining technical data with political commitment to achieve sustainable land-use changes.

The briefing explores how natural capital assessment (NCA) can help Indonesia resolve tensions between short-term economic gains and long-term environmental and social health. It highlights a 'window of opportunity' created by legal developments, such as Law No. 32/2009 and Constitutional Court ruling MK45, and the need for low-carbon development. The text details the principles of NCA—relevance, credibility, and legitimacy—and reviews technical tools like WRI's Suitability Mapper, which identified 3.3 million hectares of potentially suitable degraded land for oil palm in Central Kalimantan. It concludes that technical data alone is insufficient without the political will and commitment of local decision-makers to integrate these findings into spatial planning.

The document details CDKN's support for Bangladesh in leading the global debate on loss and damage and its research into climate-induced displacement. It highlights the 'Adaptation Policy Options' project, which collects data on migration in five districts to inform policy, and the 'Action Research on Community Adaptation in Bangladesh' (ARCAB) programme, which focuses on long-term community-based adaptation and monitoring.

The document details CDKN's efforts in India, focusing on integrating climate change with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and promoting green growth. Key initiatives include addressing heat-health vulnerability in Ahmadabad, improving disaster management planning in Leh, and researching climate-adapted shelter design. It also highlights the challenges facing the adoption of green construction technologies in India, such as lack of technical capacity, inadequate assessment tools, and bureaucratic hurdles.

The document details CDKN's support for Pakistan, focusing on three main areas: climate-resilient reconstruction in Punjab, the development of a national disaster risk insurance strategy, and technical capacity building for UNFCCC COP negotiations. It also highlights the launch of Pakistan's National Climate Change Policy in February 2013, which prioritizes adaptation in water, agriculture, and forestry, while addressing mitigation and disaster preparedness.

The document argues that the consumption patterns of the growing middle class in developing countries are a critical determinant of the global ability to limit temperature rise to 2°C. It suggests that because traditional carbon pricing is often difficult to implement in these contexts, targeted technology and innovation policies—focusing on urban planning, transport, and energy efficiency—are necessary. Using case studies on Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the brief emphasizes that success depends on addressing the political economy and building local capabilities rather than relying solely on economic incentives.

The document examines the impact of the growing middle class in developing countries on global carbon emissions, projecting that this group will grow from 1.5 billion in 2009 to almost 5 billion by 2030. It argues that because traditional carbon pricing is often impractical in these contexts, targeted technology and innovation policies are needed to steer consumption toward low-carbon alternatives in urban planning, transport, and household energy. Using case studies on Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the brief emphasizes that success depends on addressing the political economy and building local capabilities rather than relying solely on economic incentives.

National development banks (NDBs) are positioned as critical intermediaries to bridge the climate finance gap by leveraging public funds to attract private capital. Due to their local market knowledge and development mandates, NDBs can address both demand-side barriers (pre-investment) and supply-side risks (investment phase). In the LAC region, NDBs possess significant assets and capital, and many are already utilizing a variety of instruments—including Tier 1 and Tier 2 loans, guarantees, and equity—to promote low-carbon development. The report argues that NDBs can achieve leverage factors equal to or greater than multilateral development banks (MDBs) because of their proximity to local financial institutions and ability to manage country-specific risks.

The document outlines a practitioner's approach to creating NAMAs that align with low-carbon, climate-resilient development (LCCRD) planning. It details a two-track methodology: the NAMA Quick Screen, which uses a five-step qualitative process to identify promising mitigation options and develop NAMA concepts for the UNFCCC registry; and the NAMA Deep Screen, a seven-step technical process that calculates GHG emission baselines, marginal abatement costs (MACs), and sustainable development co-benefits to produce detailed NAMA proposals. The guide emphasizes the necessity of local validation with government and private sector stakeholders to ensure actions are feasible and aligned with national priorities. It also provides a framework for linking identified mitigation options to specific implementation barriers and appropriate climate finance instruments, such as grants, concessional loans, and carbon market financing.

The document details Nepal's approach to integrating economy, society, and environment through District Climate and Energy Plans (DCEPs). It highlights a pilot process in three districts—Ilam, Makwanpur, and Mustang—which led to the creation of a 'DCEP Preparation Guideline' to be scaled across all 75 districts. Using Ilam as a primary example, the text describes how multi-stakeholder task forces use data and scenario analysis to prioritize renewable energy technologies (RETs) such as solar, biogas, and micro-hydro based on mitigation potential and local vulnerability. This bottom-up planning is supported by the national Climate Change Policy (2011) and the forthcoming Low Carbon Economic Development Strategy (LCEDS).

The document identifies five key drivers for Climate Compatible Development (CCD)—national adaptation needs, energy security, new economic opportunities, access to climate finance, and strong government leadership—while detailing seven primary obstacles, including high opportunity costs, political resistance, and institutional constraints. It provides case studies from over 40 countries to illustrate how these factors interact and suggests solutions such as multi-stakeholder dialogue, legislative anchoring, and risk-sharing financial mechanisms.

The paper identifies five key drivers for CCD: national adaptation needs, energy security and resource efficiency, new economic opportunities, access to climate finance, and strong government leadership. It also outlines seven primary challenges, including high implementation and opportunity costs, opposition from vested interest groups, lack of trusted data, short-term political thinking, limited state capacity, institutional constraints, and technological uncertainties. The authors argue that managing the political economy of CCD is essential for overcoming these barriers.

The document examines Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a cost-effective, low-carbon alternative to private car-based transport in rapidly growing cities. It details the hardware and software components of BRT, analyzes the value chain and organizational roles (owner, manager, and asset manager), and discusses the political economy challenges, such as resistance from informal transport operators and car owners. The report emphasizes that while BRT is a mature technology, its success depends on local context, institutional capability, and integration with broader transport networks.

Kenya is diversifying its energy mix by prioritising geothermal power to reduce its reliance on climate-vulnerable hydroelectricity. The government has established the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) to mitigate high upfront exploration risks, implemented feed-in tariffs, and leveraged carbon finance to attract investment. While facing technical skill shortages and geological challenges, Kenya aims to significantly increase geothermal capacity by 2030 to support economic growth and rural electrification.