Search Climate Insights Directory

The report identifies agriculture, water, fisheries, energy, and health as sectors negatively affected by climate change in Ghana, with a particular emphasis on the vulnerability of the northern region. While the Government of Ghana has integrated climate risk into sectoral policies, the National Climate Change Policy and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy are designed to provide the concrete actions missing from those documents. Current initiatives are concentrated in the agricultural sector and northern regions to support poverty reduction and economic growth. Future priorities include improving the evidence base for adaptation via monitoring and evaluation and increasing the capacity of sub-national actors and civil society networks.

The report argues that Brazil's insecure land rights hinder economic growth and environmental protection, specifically in rural areas where agriculture is a key GDP driver. It identifies five urgent consequences of this insecurity: land-related conflicts and violence, a lack of tenancy markets, increased deforestation, unconventional land use decisions, and production inequality for small farms. The document further outlines systemic governance challenges, including institutional complexity, limitations of the Land Registry, and the absence of an integrated database for public and private land.

The document establishes a business-as-usual (BAU) GHG emission reference case for Pakistan, projecting emissions from 2000 to 2030. It identifies agriculture as the largest emission source and analyzes how variations in GDP growth and autonomous energy efficiency improvements (AEEI) impact future emission levels. The reference case assumes an average annual GDP growth rate of 6% between 2015 and 2030.

The letter advocates for raising the EU's non-ETS emission reduction target from -30% to beyond -45% by 2030. It proposes that the starting point for the instrument be based on actual 2016-2018 emissions to avoid 850 million tons of CO2, and argues that carbon removals from land use and forestry (LULUCF) should supplement, rather than replace, emission reductions in existing sectors.

Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment criticize a European Commission proposal for 2021-2030 emission targets, stating that 'flexibilities' regarding forestry credits and ETS allowances could reduce actual emission cuts from 30% to 27%. They further argue that basing starting points on average 2016-2018 emissions rewards countries failing to meet 2020 targets by inflating their carbon budgets.

The report 'Hostile Takeover' by Global Witness exposes how the family of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has established a dominant grip on the country's economy and political apparatus. By mining government corporate registry data, the investigation reveals that the family has registered interests in 114 companies with listed capital exceeding US$200 million, spanning sectors from energy and mining to media and gambling. The document details how this economic power is used to reinforce political control, often through the use of proxies and shell companies to obscure ownership. It further highlights the social and environmental costs of these business interests, including forced evictions and land grabs. The report warns international investors of the legal and reputational risks of doing business with the Hun family and recommends stringent due diligence and governance reforms in Cambodia.

The paper finds that agricultural expansion in Matopiba is concentrated in the Cerrado biome, driven by technological innovations in soil management and soy varieties. This expansion led to significant increases in GDP per capita, particularly through direct agricultural growth and indirect spillovers into the services sector. While it improved access to durable consumer goods and electricity, it had no significant impact on migration or human capital investments.

The report identifies that while climate change acts as a stressor to existing business risks, it also creates opportunities for Bangladeshi companies to develop new products, access new markets, and achieve cost savings. It highlights specific opportunities in the energy, agriculture, insurance, and banking/finance sectors, such as solar home systems and climate-resilient seeds. To overcome scaling challenges, the report recommends utilizing the Green Climate Fund's Private Sector Facility (PSF) and building strategic partnerships with NGOs, government agencies, and international development partners.

The document examines the systemic nature of neonicotinoids and their toxicity to arthropods and vertebrates, linking them to honeybee colony losses in Canada and biodiversity decline in Europe. It highlights the economic importance of pollinators in Ontario and Quebec and argues that the widespread use of these pesticides often provides negligible agricultural benefits while threatening human nutrition and global food security.

The document examines the role of carbon pricing within the EU's Effort Sharing Decision (ESD), which covers approximately 60% of EU emissions. It argues that while carbon pricing is a useful tool, it cannot deliver results alone and must be framed within a supportive policy context. The author critiques the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) for permit oversupply and warns against expanding the ETS into transport and heating, suggesting instead national carbon taxes, permit trading, or auctioning of permits. Specifically, auctioning half of annual reductions could generate over €9 billion between 2021 and 2030.

South Africa faces a severe water crisis driven by climate change, population growth, and crumbling infrastructure. The report argues that the country must shift its focus from building new infrastructure to managing demand through water efficiency. Key opportunities for savings include improving agricultural irrigation (30-40%), reducing municipal leaks and household waste (12-30%), and increasing industrial efficiency. The document emphasizes the role of the business community in disclosing water use and investing in water-saving technologies to avoid economic instability and social unrest.

New Mexico is experiencing a warming trend with an average annual temperature increase of approximately 0.6°F per decade since 1970. This shift is driving more intense droughts, reduced snowpack, and more frequent, destructive wildfires, which threaten the state's multibillion-dollar agricultural sector and forest ecosystems. The document recommends accelerating renewable energy investments, increasing energy efficiency, retiring coal plants, and implementing robust water management and monitoring systems to build climate resilience.

This research paper evaluates the role and effectiveness of international development partners in financing climate mitigation and adaptation within Indonesia's land use sectors. It analyzes finance flows from 2011, identifying a heavy reliance on grants and a focus on capacity building, while noting that international contributions are significantly smaller than domestic funding.

The report analyzes international climate finance for land use in Indonesia, finding that while international support is well-targeted toward building 'enabling environments' (capacity building and policy), it is significantly smaller than domestic funding and often bypasses local government institutions. The authors recommend longer project durations, better coordination through a centralized government database, and capacity building for local organizations to access international funds directly.

Jamaica employs a hybrid approach to climate adaptation, combining national-level mandates from Vision 2030 and the 2015 Climate Change Policy Framework with sector-specific strategy development. Coordination is managed through the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change (MWLECC), supported by a network of 27 focal points across government agencies. Sectoral integration varies, with some sectors creating stand-alone plans and others updating existing strategies, all intended to eventually merge into a national adaptation strategy and action plan.

The document examines the complex hybrid of customary and statutory landholding systems across Africa, utilizing data from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It highlights that while weak property rights hinder economic growth and agricultural productivity, the administrative costs and institutional limitations of full formal titling make it an impractical immediate solution. Instead, the author proposes a gradual approach: strengthening informal tenure security, improving state administrative capacity through computerization, and investing in rural infrastructure to boost land value and productivity.

Botswana faces significant climate risks, primarily driven by water scarcity and rising temperatures, which threaten its water, health, agriculture, livestock, and forestry sectors. While the country possesses higher adaptive capacity than its neighbors due to its development status and governance, the government has not yet made climate change a national priority. Consequently, there is a lack of guiding legislation, strategy, and dedicated adaptation funding. Most current adaptation efforts are integrated into larger regional projects rather than national initiatives, and civil society engagement remains limited.

The document reviews Ghana's climate risk profile, noting that while it is less vulnerable than some West African neighbors, the northern regions face high risks due to poverty and reliance on rain-fed agriculture. It evaluates national policies like the National Climate Change Policy (2014) and the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (2010–2020), finding that while these provide a framework, sectoral policies—particularly in agriculture and health—often lack concrete adaptation actions. The review identifies a strong concentration of adaptation projects in the agricultural sector, primarily in northern Ghana, and notes that while Ghana is a significant recipient of bilateral adaptation funds in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a gap in funding for the water, fisheries, and health sectors.

Mali is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its dependence on agriculture, low development levels, and political fragility. While the government has established a comprehensive policy framework—including the National Climate Change Policy and the Mali Climate Fund—integration of climate risks into sectoral and sub-national policies remains weak. Adaptation efforts are heavily concentrated in the agricultural and livestock sectors, with significant gaps in support for the fishing sector and pastoralists in the northern regions. Most adaptation projects are funded by international donors and focus on institutional capacity building and food security.

Namibia is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its extreme aridity and reliance on climate-dependent livelihoods, particularly in agriculture. While the government has established a National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) and a National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (NCCSAP), adaptation is not yet meaningfully integrated into sectoral policies for water, health, and agriculture. Current adaptation projects are limited in number and primarily focus on agriculture and capacity building, with a significant gap in programming for health, tourism, and coastal zones. Adaptation finance is heavily dependent on international donors, with minimal domestic budget allocation.