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The document outlines a series of briefings focused on workforce development for a low-carbon recovery following the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting the specific challenges and opportunities for small businesses in energy efficiency, marine renewable energy, and climate adaptation.

The document argues for a comprehensive AU-EU partnership on the green transition and energy access that moves beyond a risk-based lens to address Africa's developmental goals. It highlights the critical need to expand electricity access, leverage private investment through de-risking mechanisms, and integrate nexus issues such as agriculture and the digital economy. While acknowledging the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the briefing suggests the crisis offers an opportunity to redesign the partnership to ensure a just transition that includes skills development and gender mainstreaming.

The document analyzes the energy deficit in Africa, noting that over 600 million people lack electricity. It identifies key barriers to green energy adoption, including a need for $70 billion in annual investment, technical capacity gaps, and fossil fuel subsidies. The author argues that the AfCFTA can fast-track the transition by creating a unified market, reducing investment risks through dispute resolution mechanisms, and facilitating the free movement of skilled labor. Additionally, the briefing suggests that the EU-Africa partnership should shift from bilateral aid to regional support, prioritize institutional knowledge sharing on fossil fuel transitions, and focus on local adaptation of green technologies rather than mere imports.

The policy brief contends that Africa's vulnerability to crises like COVID-19 and climate change is exacerbated by low access to energy and the digital economy. It proposes that the AU-EU partnership should prioritise decentralised, renewable energy solutions to bridge the digital divide, as internet access is viewed as a critical value-added energy service and a human right. The document recommends that multi-lateral financial institutions invest in green energy, while policymakers incentivise broadband access and integrate ICT skills into education to foster economic inclusion and climate resilience.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is seeking Project Preparation Facility (PPF) funding to design a programme that blends GCF and CDB resources to provide concessional loans to Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in Belize, Jamaica, and St. Lucia. These DFIs will then on-lend to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and homeowners for climate mitigation and adaptation projects. The programme aims to address financial barriers, such as high interest rates and perceived risks, while providing technical assistance to improve the capacity of both lenders and borrowers to implement bankable climate projects. Tentative targets include reducing at least 0.6 million tCO2eq and benefiting at least 375,000 people.

Nova Scotia has achieved significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions between 2005 and 2018 while maintaining economic growth, driven by fuel switching in electricity, energy efficiency, and a growing clean tech sector. However, the province faces structural unemployment in rural and Indigenous communities, high energy costs for households, and difficulties in decarbonizing the transportation sector to meet its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Nova Scotia has significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth, primarily through electricity sector decarbonization and energy efficiency. However, the province faces challenges including high rural unemployment, a continued reliance on fossil fuels for heating and transport, and air quality issues in rural areas.

Agnisumukh develops flameless, radiant heat gas burners for commercial kitchens in India, reducing fuel consumption by approximately 30% and eliminating carbon soot. Founded in 2014 by Hari Rao, the company provides alternatives to traditional firewood and inefficient LPG burners, serving over 100 clients in 500 kitchens, including the President of India and the Prime Minister’s Office. The company's innovations have resulted in carbon savings of approximately 7,337 tons and the preservation of 469,201 trees.

The We Mean Business Coalition argues that integrating climate ambition into economic recovery is a strategic necessity for long-term growth and resilience. The statement highlights that green recovery measures are more effective at creating jobs and increasing GDP than traditional stimulus. It calls for specific policy actions, including the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, mandatory TCFD-aligned financial disclosures, and the requirement that companies receiving public financial assistance adopt science-based targets consistent with a 1.5°C warming limit.

The study examines the failure of traditional cookstove replacement efforts and uses a pilot project in peri-urban Kenya to identify user archetypes—motivated by money, convenience, or health—to better align stove design and services with user needs.

The report analyzes green finance in India for FY 2017-2018, finding that average annual flows of USD 19 billion are insufficient to meet national climate goals, representing only about 10% of the total requirement. Domestic private investors are the largest contributors, primarily funding renewable energy, while international public finance focuses heavily on sustainable transportation and solar projects. The study highlights a critical need for a harmonized green finance taxonomy and an integrated measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system to address significant data gaps and transparency issues.

The report assesses gender inequalities in Georgia, specifically within the forestry and energy sectors, to inform a Green Climate Fund project. It identifies significant disparities in decision-making, asset ownership, and labor, noting that while men dominate forest management and commercial wood extraction, women are the primary managers of household fuel consumption and are more vulnerable to poverty and time poverty. The document proposes targeted interventions, including strengthening gender competencies in partner institutions, ensuring women's participation in sustainable forest management plans, and improving access to financing for energy-efficient stoves for women-led households.

The CBI Shipping Criteria provide a framework for certifying shipping assets as compatible with a low-carbon economy. Eligibility is primarily based on a vessel's carbon-equivalent intensity remaining below a specific decarbonisation trajectory for its class, reaching zero emissions by 2050. The criteria exclude dedicated fossil fuel carriers and require non-zero-emission ships to provide a Managed Reduction Plan (MRP) detailing future retrofits or fuel switches. While the document outlines adaptation principles, the shipping sector is currently derogated from mandatory resilience requirements due to existing international maritime safety standards.

The report analyzes 46 green bonds (USD 37bn) issued in H1 2020. It finds that green bonds generally outperformed vanilla equivalents in terms of book cover and spread compression, particularly in the EUR market. Despite a general market sell-off during the COVID-19 pandemic, green bonds maintained sufficient liquidity and showed resilience. Approximately 55% of allocations went to green or socially responsible investors. While the 'greenium' (pricing inside the yield curve) was less consistent than in H2 2019, 11 of 21 bonds with buildable yield curves priced on or inside their curves. The report also highlights the emergence of the communications sector, exemplified by Swisscom, and the growth of green bond ETFs.

The report argues that the EU Commission should integrate climate and environmental protection objectives into its State aid decision-making process to ensure that national economic recovery programmes are consistent with the European Green Deal and the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

The document analyzes the Government of India's economic recovery package (~INR 20.90 lakh crore), arguing that it is primarily supply-side focused and largely 'sector-neutral' or 'brown', with only about 1.5% directly supporting green projects. It proposes specific modifications to existing fiscal and monetary measures—such as credit guarantees for MSME solar adoption, prioritizing renewable energy (RE) payments in DISCOM liquidity support, and greening the MGNREGA scheme—to generate immediate employment while advancing India's decarbonization goals.

The report finds that tracked green finance in India averaged INR 124 thousand crores (USD 19 billion) per year for FY 2017-2018, representing only about 10% of the estimated annual requirement for climate action. Domestic private finance was the largest contributor, with the vast majority of funds flowing into renewable energy, specifically solar and wind power. While public finance increased due to government initiatives and the role of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the report highlights significant data gaps and the need for a standardized green finance taxonomy and a national measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system to scale investments.

The report finds that 11 of 18 EU coal-using countries lack Paris-compatible phase-out plans, with seven not planning to exit coal by 2030 and four replacing coal with increased fossil gas. It argues that the Just Transition Fund's current allocation methodology risks funding 'climate laggards,' as nearly two-thirds of the fund would go to countries without 2030 phase-out plans. The authors recommend making fund access conditional on ambitious coal phase-out dates and strictly excluding all fossil fuels, including gas, from the fund's scope.

The document details how authoritative climate data from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) is integrated into the SAVi Buildings model. It provides a literature review on climate impacts on buildings—covering energy demand, rainwater harvesting, and climate hazards—and explains the methodology for translating this data into performance indicators. Simulation results demonstrate that using CDS climate data significantly alters projections compared to 'no climate' scenarios, specifically showing a 23-fold increase in forecasted rainwater harvesting yields and a reduction in projected energy expenditures for heating and cooling.

The report finds that electricity subsidies in Jharkhand are regressive, with a significant portion of benefits accruing to wealthier households. Using survey data from over 900 households, the authors analyze the current subsidy incidence and simulate three targeting options: using poverty ration cards, revising volumetric consumption slabs, and implementing a proxy means test (PMT). The analysis suggests that revising volumetric slabs offers the most significant potential for fiscal savings and improved targeting without excluding the most vulnerable, while the PMT approach based on existing SECC variables shows high inclusion and exclusion errors.