Search Climate Insights Directory

The document describes Cooling as a Service (CaaS) as a pay-per-service model that removes upfront costs for customers by having service providers own and maintain energy-efficient cooling equipment. It highlights the role of sale-leaseback arrangements with banks to scale financing and identifies Nigeria's ColdHubs as a practical application for solar-powered cold storage. The text also notes the importance of legal frameworks, national energy efficiency policies, and the potential for CaaS implementation in 21 countries that prioritized urban planning in their NDCs.

The R4 Rural Resilience Initiative, launched in 2011 by the World Food Program and Oxfam America, employs a four-pronged strategy—risk reduction, risk transfer, prudent risk-taking, and risk reserves—to help farmers adapt to climate risks. By 2020, the program provided index insurance and complementary services to nearly 180,000 farmers across ten countries, leveraging existing government safety nets and community partnerships to scale its impact.

The Desert to Power G5 Sahel Facility is a large-scale program requesting US$ 150 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to leverage a total of US$ 966.7 million in financing. The initiative aims to add 500 MW of solar generation capacity and 239 MWh of utility-scale storage across five G5 Sahel countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.4 million tCO2equ over its lifetime. The program is structured into three components: grid investments to de-risk solar Independent Power Producers (IPPs), incremental finance for solar power generation, and technical assistance to improve the regulatory and institutional environment. The African Development Bank (AfDB) serves as the Accredited Entity, coordinating with national governments and private sector stakeholders to address technical, financial, and legal barriers to renewable energy adoption.

The ACT Fund is a mid-market greenfield infrastructure fund designed to overcome investment barriers in West Africa by combining technical assistance, equity, and subordinated debt. It utilizes a 'blended currency mechanism' to reduce financing friction during early project stages and provides structured exit solutions for international equity by refinancing projects with local-currency senior debt once they are operational. The fund targets an initial capitalization of USD 150 million for equity and USD 100 million for subordinated debt, with a primary focus on renewable energy before expanding into urban mobility, water, and waste systems.

The document analyzes coal finance in 18 high-impact countries (HICs) with significant electricity access gaps. It finds that while global coal investment is declining, finance persists in HICs, largely driven by Chinese state-owned institutions and a few South Asian nations. The report argues that coal is misaligned with Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) due to long development timelines and high infrastructure costs, contrasting this with the efficiency of distributed renewable energy. It highlights the risk of stranded assets in Bangladesh and Pakistan and the operational hurdles facing coal in Africa, concluding that a shift toward renewables and finance-based carbon accounting is necessary to achieve net-zero goals.

The document analyzes the multidimensional relationship between China and West Africa, highlighting significant asymmetries in trade and foreign direct investment. It identifies health cooperation, economic recovery, regional integration, and debt restructuring as primary priorities for the FOCAC 8 summit. The author argues that West African nations should move beyond bilateral opportunism toward a strategic regional approach led by ECOWAS, incorporating non-state actors and civil society to address concerns over transparency, debt sustainability, and environmental impacts.

The document analyzes coal finance in 18 high-impact countries (HICs) in South Asia and Africa, highlighting that while global trends shift toward renewables, significant coal investment persists, largely driven by Chinese state-owned institutions. It argues that coal is an inefficient path to universal electricity access compared to distributed renewables and warns of stranded asset risks, citing overcapacity in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The report examines how the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution'—including AI, automation, and IoT—is transforming large-scale mining. While these technologies improve safety and efficiency, they risk displacing low- and semi-skilled workers and reducing local procurement. The authors propose a 'New Deal' comprising updated education and skills training, innovative social impact investing, revised taxation, and the use of technology itself to benefit local communities and artisanal mining.

The Powering Healthcare Solutions Catalogue provides a directory of companies offering off-grid energy systems and medical appliances for low-income regions. It highlights a variety of technical solutions, including plug-and-play systems, containerized microgrids, and solar-powered medical equipment, aimed at improving healthcare delivery in areas with unreliable electricity, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The document contends that Africa's historical 'jobless growth' is due to a dependence on primary commodities and a lack of structural transformation. It proposes a shift from 'stabilization' to 'transformation' by coordinating fiscal and monetary policies with sectoral and labour market interventions. Key recommendations include increasing public investment in the care economy and infrastructure, implementing expenditure-switching methods to reduce import reliance, adopting progressive taxation, and establishing national minimum wages to boost domestic demand and productivity.

The evaluation of Burkina Faso's 2015-2020 National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP) found that 67% of planned actions were either completed or in progress, though the average physical completion rate was lower at 49%. While institutional capacity building (Strategic Area 1) saw a 93% completion rate, sectors like housing and infrastructure and cross-cutting areas for women and civil society struggled significantly due to poor resource mobilisation and a lack of institutional leadership. Key physical achievements included the Zagtouli solar power plant and extensive land recovery, but the report highlights critical failures in monitoring, evaluation, and gender-disaggregated data collection.

The evaluation of Burkina Faso's 2015–2020 National Adaptation Plan (NAP) reveals a mixed record of implementation. While 67% of planned actions were either completed or are ongoing, the overall physical realization rate stands at 49%. Success was highest in the livestock (75%) and water (84%) sectors, while gender-related and civil society actions saw 0% completion due to a lack of institutional leadership. Key barriers included insufficient financial resource mobilization, security instability, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The report recommends strengthening institutional accountability, improving resource mobilization strategies, and better integrating gender and civil society into future adaptation frameworks.

The document analyzes the vulnerability of sub-Saharan African food systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting a heavy reliance on global imports and a lack of fiscal capacity for social protection. It details how governments primarily used interventionist market, trade, and production policies, while highlighting severe disruptions in input supply, labor, and logistics. The authors argue for a shift toward more agile governance, investment in infrastructure, and the effective implementation of regional trade agreements to build future resilience.

The submission argues that the UNCITRAL Working Group III's draft work plan must better facilitate the participation of developing states and ensure the inclusion of critical cross-cutting issues in ISDS reform. The authors propose moving to an opt-out participation model for intersessional work, providing translation services for non-English speaking delegations, and increasing transparency regarding drafting processes and expert roles. Additionally, they call for the explicit inclusion of cross-cutting issues—such as regulatory chill, exhaustion of local remedies, and the calculation of damages—which they claim have been notably absent from recent agendas and working papers.

The report finds that while health is a priority in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), SRHR is largely overlooked in overarching documents, creating a gap between sector-specific health planning and national climate strategy. It argues that realizing SRHR is a foundation for climate resilience and recommends integrating SRHR into vulnerability assessments, gender analyses, and monitoring systems.

The report analyzes 19 general NAP documents, five health-sector NAPs, and five Green Climate Fund proposals to assess the integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in climate adaptation planning. It finds that while health is universally prioritized, specific SRHR issues are rarely addressed in general NAPs and often disconnected from sector-specific health plans. The document argues that SRHR is a fundamental basis for climate resilience, as its denial limits women's agency and participation in climate action. It provides eight recommendations to better integrate SRHR through gender-responsive vulnerability assessments, inter-agency collaboration, and systemic health sector adaptation.

The report analyzes 19 National Adaptation Plan (NAP) documents, sectoral health plans, and Green Climate Fund proposals to assess the integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). It finds that while health is universally prioritized as a sector for adaptation, specific SRHR issues are rarely addressed. The document argues that climate change negatively impacts SRHR and that the denial of these rights increases climate vulnerability. It recommends using existing gender and health guidelines, incorporating SRHR into vulnerability assessments, and fostering collaboration between government bodies responsible for climate, gender, and health to ensure inclusive and rights-based adaptation strategies.

The report synthesizes findings from 49 peer-reviewed articles and 72 distinct analyses to determine what factors drive individuals to aspire to migrate. It employs a two-step model distinguishing between the formation of aspirations and their conversion into actual migration. The review identifies 32 determinants across demographic, socio-economic, individual, contextual, and migration-related domains. Key findings indicate that migration aspirations are most strongly and consistently driven by youth, male gender, the presence of migration networks, a history of international travel, and exposure to violence or insecurity. Conversely, aspirations are consistently lowered by increasing age, higher subjective well-being, and strong social attachment to the community of origin. The document also notes a significant research gap in the 'conversion' phase—how aspirations translate into actual movement—due to the logistical challenges of longitudinal panel data collection.

This research paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) identifies key strategies to accelerate climate change adaptation across Africa. Based on interviews with African scientists and practitioners, the paper advocates for a shift toward locally-led, inclusive solutions that integrate indigenous knowledge with scientific projections. It proposes three primary investment pillars: enhancing people's skills and knowledge, building climate-resilient economies, and investing in nature-based solutions.

The document outlines a strategic framework for accelerating climate adaptation in Africa, emphasizing the integration of indigenous knowledge with scientific data and the need for decentralized finance. It advocates for investing in a climate-smart workforce, resilient water and energy systems, and nature-based solutions to protect biodiversity and human livelihoods.