Search Climate Insights Directory

The workshop concluded that low-carbon options have not yet fundamentally changed the barriers to energy access in Africa, such as high supply costs and weak financing. Participants argued that energy access must be framed as a tool for inclusive development rather than just a grid connection, and that national governments must lead the transition by creating enabling environments and sustainable business models. While the emissions impact of basic energy access is considered negligible, there is a call for stronger evidence linking low-carbon pathways to job creation to convince policymakers.

The document outlines SEI's approach to climate adaptation, emphasizing that vulnerability is driven more by socioeconomic conditions than by climate exposure. It argues that adaptation and development are inextricably linked and that adaptation has inherent limits, meaning it cannot replace mitigation. The briefing also details SEI's global initiatives, such as the weADAPT platform and the Asia Adaptation Knowledge Platform, and identifies future research priorities including the role of gender, culture, and the private sector in adaptation.

The document examines the strategic importance of rare earth minerals (REMs) for clean technologies and the geopolitical friction caused by China's dominance of their production. It highlights how China's shift toward environmental regulation and energy security has led to export restrictions, triggering WTO disputes with the USA, Japan, and the EU. The author argues that the REM case reveals the inadequacy of current international trade governance in balancing short-term economic priorities with long-term sustainability and resource scarcity.

The document outlines the ROAM framework, which combines stakeholder engagement and data analysis to identify forest landscape restoration opportunities. It details a three-phase process: preparation and planning, data collection and analysis, and translating results into recommendations. The methodology employs tools for spatial mapping, economic valuation, carbon sequestration modelling, and institutional diagnostics to support national strategies and international commitments like the Bonn Challenge.

The document examines South Africa's efforts to shift toward a low-carbon growth trajectory through various policy frameworks like the National Development Plan and the Green Economy Accord. It highlights a fundamental tension: while the government aims for a green transition to create jobs and reduce emissions, the country remains heavily reliant on coal-fired power and extractive industries to address urgent poverty and unemployment. The paper also explores South Africa's potential to lead other African nations in green investment and policy development.

The paper examines the gap between Ethiopia's large-scale grid expansion and the needs of the rural poor, proposing a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) to integrate decentralized renewable energy into national policy.

The guide argues that financial instruments should target projects that are socially beneficial but unattractive to commercial investors, rather than attempting to make all projects financially viable. It emphasizes that understanding project-level barriers is essential for designing appropriate instruments and that investments require a favourable policy environment to be effective. Additionally, it notes that national climate finance institutions require specific expertise to optimize the use of support.

The document is an open letter signed by 87 civil society networks and organisations from 33 countries. It calls on UNFCCC delegates at COP-19 to ensure ambitious mitigation commitments to maintain a temperature limit of 2°C and to prevent carbon market mechanisms from weakening these goals. Specifically, the signatories demand the rejection of a pilot phase for trading carbon market units under the Framework for Various Approaches (FVA), the establishment of an international accounting framework to prevent double counting, and the exclusion of non-additional project types, such as large power projects and coal power, from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). The letter also advocates for the cessation of fossil fuel subsidies and the implementation of human rights safeguards for projects under the CDM, Green Climate Fund, and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

The document outlines the state of climate finance negotiations leading up to COP19, focusing on the mobilization of US$100 billion per year by 2020 and the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund. It details the work of the Standing Committee on Finance, the challenges facing the Adaptation Fund due to falling carbon prices, and the need for 'enabling environments' in both developed and developing countries to attract and deploy investment. The guide emphasizes that providing financial assurance to developing countries is critical for securing their commitment to a new global climate agreement in 2015.

The document identifies various project-level barriers to climate investment, such as externalities, financial market imperfections, and regulatory risks, and suggests tailored financial instruments—including grants, concessional loans, guarantees, and equity—to address them. It emphasizes that financial support should target projects that are societally beneficial but commercially unattractive, and that such instruments must be supported by a consistent policy environment to be effective.

The report examines the evolution of low-carbon, climate-resilient development (LCCRD) in developing countries, highlighting the integration of mitigation and adaptation into national planning. It identifies critical barriers, including limited human capacity and a significant imbalance in climate finance, where adaptation receives far less funding than mitigation. The document analyzes the shift from top-down to bottom-up international governance and the role of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) as a vehicle for sustainable development. It also discusses the challenges of monitoring and evaluating adaptation investments and the proliferation of online knowledge platforms, recommending a greater focus on user needs and the translation of high-level strategies into concrete actions.

The report examines the critical role of mangrove ecosystems in Mozambique, highlighting their value in carbon sequestration, coastal protection, and supporting fisheries. It identifies significant threats from urban growth, aquaculture, and the extractive boom in oil, gas, and mining. The author argues that Mozambique's current governance is fragmented across multiple ministries, leading to weak enforcement of environmental laws. The document advocates for the use of ecosystem valuation, Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), and 'Blue Carbon' financing to incentivize conservation and reconcile economic growth with ecological sustainability.

The document examines India's adoption of the G-20's 'green growth' framework, which posits that economic growth and environmental sustainability are compatible. While the Indian government integrates this into its Five-Year Plans through technocratic solutions like renewable energy missions and energy efficiency schemes, a counter-discourse argues that such growth continues to marginalize the poor and deplete natural capital. The author highlights a contradiction between India's G-20 alignment and its stance in multilateral climate forums, where it emphasizes historical responsibility and the need for financial support from developed nations.

The paper examines 27 PPCFIs with approximately US$41.3 billion in capitalization, finding a strong bias toward mitigation over adaptation and a preference for established markets over least-developed countries. It identifies significant hurdles in attracting private capital at the fund level, noting that only two of eleven funds aiming for private capital achieved sizeable investment. The authors recommend standardizing processes, increasing private sector awareness, and leveraging the Green Climate Fund to coordinate the fragmented landscape of climate finance.

A survey of United Nations member states between 2007 and 2012 reveals a significant increase in national climate mitigation efforts, with 67% of global greenhouse gas emissions covered by national legislation or strategy by 2012, up from 45% in 2007. The growth was most prominent in non-Annex I countries, specifically in Asia and Latin America, while OECD countries remained relatively stagnant. The data indicates a general preference for non-binding climate strategies over binding legislation, with China noted as a significant exception to this trend.

The World Resources Institute outlines five priority areas for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board's fifth meeting in Paris: defining funding focus, mobilizing predictable financial resources, ensuring equitable distribution between adaptation and mitigation, building diverse partnerships, and optimizing financial incentives for investors. The briefing emphasizes that current commitments, such as the US$100 billion annual pledge by developed countries, are insufficient compared to the estimated annual needs of developing countries, which could reach $565 billion for mitigation and $70-100 billion for adaptation by 2030.

The document argues that a paradigm shift requires moving from small, project-by-project interventions to programmatic approaches that address entire sectors or economies. It emphasizes that strong country ownership is a prerequisite for ambition and long-term sustainability, suggesting that the GCF should provide more beneficial funding conditions to countries with higher ambition. The brief also discusses the need for clear performance indicators to measure transformative impact and the importance of substantial financial resources from developed countries to trigger larger investments.

Global climate finance plateaued at USD 359 billion in 2012, falling short of investment needs for a 2°C pathway. While private actors provided 62% of the total, a strong domestic preference exists, with 76% of finance spent within the country of origin. Public finance, particularly through Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), remains critical for addressing risk and funding adaptation, though significant knowledge gaps persist in tracking private adaptation and energy efficiency flows.

The vulnerability assessment in the Virunga landscape reveals that climate-related disturbances affect different social groups and activities unevenly. While non-Batwa women identified that direct consequences of events like flooding can be mitigated to reduce impacts on income, Batwa groups perceive themselves as more severely affected by destructive disturbances such as strong winds. The Batwa are identified as a particularly vulnerable group due to extreme poverty, high dependency on the park, and displacement resulting from restricted park access, leaving many in poor housing.

The Clean Air Task Force supports the EPA's move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, asserting that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technologically ready and necessary tool for deep emissions cuts. The authors argue that CCS can reduce emissions from stationary sources by 90% and is essential for the U.S. to reach its target of an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. They reject industry claims that the technology is not commercially viable, citing decades of industrial use and existing projects like the Kemper plant in Mississippi and the Texas Clean Energy Project. The document emphasizes that the Clean Air Act is intended to be "technology-forcing," driving innovation and scaling of emissions control technologies similar to the historical adoption of sulfur dioxide scrubbers.