Search Climate Insights Directory

The report outlines a four-step process—sector prioritization, landscape assessment, barrier identification, and intervention execution—to unlock private climate finance. Drawing from the International Climate Initiative Mobilizing Investment (IKI MI) program, it identifies common barriers such as unfavorable taxes, high capital costs, and a lack of proof points. It recommends that governments level the playing field by making low-carbon solutions commercially competitive against fossil-fuel alternatives and providing pilot projects to demonstrate business viability.

The report finds that global adaptation finance is dominated by public development finance, with a heavy concentration in water and wastewater management. While finance often aligns with the most vulnerable sectors in specific countries like Pakistan, Zambia, and Niger, significant funding gaps remain relative to Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. The authors highlight critical data gaps in private sector and domestic public finance and recommend the use of new datasets from the Climate Bonds Initiative and CDP to improve tracking accuracy.

The report examines the Indonesia Environmental Fund Agency (BPDLH), established in October 2019 to bridge financing gaps for environmental protection and climate goals. By utilizing the Public Service Agency (BLU) legal vehicle, BPDLH gains flexibility in sourcing funds from both the state budget and international donors, as well as in its procurement and staffing. The document compares BPDLH to seven other fund-managing BLUs, noting that BPDLH is unique in its ability to act as a strategic hub for diverse funding mechanisms. It specifically details two initial funding windows: the REDD+ fund, which uses result-based payments and grants for various stakeholders, and the Forest Rehabilitation Revolving Fund, which provides loans to private enterprises in the forestry sector.

The report outlines a structured approach for Fiji to track 160 prioritized adaptation actions across five systems and five sectoral components. It proposes a two-part M&E methodology combining a simple 'traffic light' monitoring system for progress with a more complex process- and results-based evaluation for effectiveness. The framework emphasizes the need for interministerial coordination, the use of primary and secondary data sources, and the potential for an online National Adaptation Registry to centralize information. It also highlights the importance of aligning the NAP M&E with international commitments such as the Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The document examines the uncertainty surrounding the hosting of COP26 in Glasgow due to COVID-19, noting that while the UK government initially aimed to proceed, the decision involves the UNFCCC. It highlights the impracticality of virtual summits and emphasizes that Paris Agreement obligations for 2020 NDC submissions remain. The author argues that post-pandemic economic recovery packages must avoid high-carbon industries and instead invest in low-carbon infrastructure to avoid repeating the missed opportunities of the 2008 financial crisis.

The analysis assesses the impact of commitments from 79 regions, approximately 6,000 cities, and nearly 1,600 companies within ten major emitting economies. If fully implemented, these individual commitments could reduce 2030 emissions by 3.8%–5.5% compared to current national policy projections. The study finds that such action could lead the European Union, Japan, and India to overachieve their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and could serve as a primary driver for climate action in the United States following national policy rollbacks.

The proposal seeks $2,184,555 over 36 months to develop a comprehensive National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for Zambia. The project aims to strengthen institutional coordination, integrate climate adaptation into national and sub-national planning and budgeting, and prioritize adaptation actions across key sectors. It focuses on moving beyond short-term projects to a long-term strategic framework aligned with Zambia's Vision 2030 and the 7th National Development Plan.

The World Resources Institute criticizes Japan's decision to maintain its 2030 emissions reduction target of 26% from 2013 levels, stating the plan is 'no stronger than the one it submitted five years ago'. The author contends that Japan could strengthen its target to 42% using affordable low-carbon technologies and warns of financial risks from stranded fossil fuel assets. The document recommends that Japan increase its renewable energy target to 50% of the electricity mix by 2030, phase out domestic coal and overseas coal finance, and end fossil fuel subsidies.

The report examines the Mongolian electricity sector's transition toward the Paris Agreement goals and the public health costs of coal power. It highlights that planned coal capacity expansions, particularly the Shivee Ovoo plant, would significantly increase premature deaths and years of life lost by 2050, while noting that Mongolia requires international financial and technical support to implement renewable energy and decouple heat and electricity supply.

The document identifies significant barriers to financing sustainable cooling, including the diversity of needs across human comfort, agriculture, and health sectors, and a lack of global tracking for cooling-specific investments. It argues that while private capital is abundant, it is often too risk-averse for the innovative or low-income contexts where cooling is most needed. The brief highlights the role of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) and suggests leveraging blended finance, national cooling action plans, and bulk procurement to scale solutions. It specifically emphasizes the need to coordinate funding for refrigerant replacement (via the Montreal Protocol) with energy efficiency improvements to maximize climate benefits.

The report analyzes 49 green bonds totaling USD36bn issued in H2 2019. It finds that green bonds generally outperformed vanilla equivalents in terms of book cover and spread compression. Approximately 50% of these bonds were allocated to investors identifying as green. The analysis also highlights a 'greenium' (pricing inside the yield curve) for several bonds and examines the growing market for sovereign green bonds, where 12 governments had issued such instruments by December 2019.

The report identifies significant barriers to implementing just transition strategies in developing countries, including a lack of conceptual consensus, the misconception that the concept only applies to developed nations, and weak institutional capacity. It proposes a structured template for NDCs that includes labour market planning, stakeholder engagement, and the creation of inter-departmental coordinating committees. Through case studies of Latin American countries and a policy roundtable, the document emphasizes that no 'one size fits all' approach exists, particularly due to the prevalence of informal economies and varying levels of social protection in low- and middle-income economies.

The document asserts that off-grid renewable energy, such as solar home systems and mini-grids, outperforms grid extension in cost, emissions, and deployment speed. It provides quantitative evidence showing that off-grid solutions can reduce investment costs by up to 30% and save 500 to 800 Mt of CO2 by 2030. The paper recommends integrating off-grid renewables into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), implementing financial de-risking mechanisms, fostering digital and storage innovations, and enforcing technology and consumer protection standards.

The report details a five-day event in February 2020 focused on waste sector climate mitigation in West Africa. It highlights the development of national biogas and compost strategies in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, shares biodigester success from Burkina Faso and waste recovery projects from Madagascar, and outlines a technical training program on GHG MRV systems to ensure transparency in NDC implementation.

The workshop, supported by the Government of Canada, UNEP, and SEI, focused on the waste sector's role in achieving NDCs in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Key activities included the development of national biogas and compost strategies and training on MRV systems to ensure transparency in GHG emission reductions. The event also featured experience sharing from Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and the ECOWAS Commission, emphasizing the need for private sector involvement, circular economy models, and regional harmonization of climate policies.

The document details a February 2020 event supported by the Government of Canada to help Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal reduce greenhouse gas emissions through waste management. It covers national strategies for composting and biogas, regional perspectives from ECOWAS, and a technical training program on MRV systems to ensure transparency in climate action.

The document analyzes policy coherence between the Paris Agreement's NDCs and the 2030 Agenda's SDGs in Germany, Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the Philippines. It finds that while synergies exist, significant conflicts often emerge around energy transitions, economic growth, and inequality (SDG 10). These incoherencies are driven by institutional fragmentation, conflicting national ideologies, and vested interests. The authors argue that achieving both agendas requires moving beyond institutional fixes to address deep structural changes and political dynamics.

The document outlines a framework for incorporating nature-based solutions into climate commitments, emphasizing the need for measurable targets, biodiversity benefits, and the integration of both mitigation and adaptation strategies.

In 2019, Canada's federal fossil fuel subsidies totaled at least CAD 600 million, though the actual figure may be higher due to data gaps regarding tax measures and the Trans Mountain pipeline. The report notes a shift in subsidy focus from exploration to production and export infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas. It argues that these subsidies undermine Canada's net-zero 2050 goal and 2030 emissions targets. The document recommends that Canada complete its G20 peer review with Argentina in 2020, commit to no new subsidies, and integrate subsidy reform into its next Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.

A statement from the We Mean Business coalition to the Prime Minister of Japan calling for more ambitious 2030 emissions targets, the phase-out of coal power, and the alignment of overseas financing with the Paris Agreement to provide certainty for business investment.