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The document examines the role of local financial institutions (LFIs) in East Africa in financing the productive use of renewable energy (PURE), particularly for SMEs and the agricultural sector. While there is strong interest in expanding PURE lending, LFIs face constraints such as limited staff capacity, credit risks, and insufficient funding. The paper suggests that 17 surveyed LFIs require $174 million to expand their lending and recommends a shift toward more direct lending from balance sheets, the use of green bonds, and collaboration with development partners for de-risking instruments.

The document introduces 'Mapping Together', a guide for using the open-source tool Collect Earth to track biophysical restoration goals. It details a process involving local stakeholders to monitor land use, tree cover, and spatial patterns. The guide provides four case studies from El Salvador, Ethiopia, India, and Rwanda to demonstrate how governments identify restoration opportunities and track progress toward forest cover targets, and outlines an 8-step methodology for implementing mapathons.

The research identifies a systemic 'siloed approach' where Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are managed by separate institutions, typically environment ministries for NDCs and central cabinet-level offices for SDGs. To overcome this, the paper proposes five core elements for joined-up implementation: coordinating institutions, aligning targets, joint mainstreaming into policy planning, optimizing financial resources, and creating mutually reinforcing monitoring frameworks. The study argues that integrating these agendas reduces transaction costs, fosters 'win-win solutions', and helps ensure a just transition by applying the 'leaving no one behind' principle to climate action. It highlights that while some countries have begun linking these frameworks, a fully integrated approach requires significant shifts in institutional and financial structures to avoid the 'cherry-picking' of targets by line ministries.

The document examines the vulnerability of coffee cultivation in the Coto Brus region of Costa Rica, where up to 50% of suitable land may be lost by 2050. It identifies a gap between the awareness of sustainable practices and their implementation, particularly among resource-limited smallholders. The report argues that current short-term incremental adjustments are insufficient and advocates for 'transformative adaptation,' which includes diversifying incomes, replanting with resilient varieties, and potentially shifting livelihoods for farmers in areas where coffee is no longer viable.

The document outlines a methodology for tracking nature-based solutions (NBS) investments in sub-Saharan Africa by scanning multilateral development bank portfolios. Between 2012 and 2021, the World Bank and African Development Bank led 85 NBS-related projects with combined total budgets of $12.1 billion, of which $4.5 billion was specifically for NBS components. The research identifies Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the countries with the highest project counts and notes that NBS are being used to address urban flooding, coastal flooding, and water security while providing co-benefits for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) employs a comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting methodology covering Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The inventory uses an operational control consolidation approach and has established 2019 as its base year for 2030 reduction targets. Scope 1 includes direct emissions from diesel generators and office refrigerators. Scope 2 utilizes both location-based and market-based methods for purchased electricity, incorporating renewable energy certificates for US operations. Scope 3 is the most extensive, covering purchased goods and services (Category 1) via a spend-based USEEIO model, fuel- and energy-related activities (Category 3), waste (Category 5), business travel (Category 6), employee commuting (Category 7), and endowment investments (Category 15). The methodology emphasizes the use of regional emission factors and annual staff surveys to estimate impacts across WRI's global network.

The analysis finds that pursuing a net zero emissions pathway by 2050 in Ethiopia would increase the average real annual GDP growth rate by 1.4 percent relative to a business-as-usual scenario. While the NZE pathway requires an additional US$66.98 billion in cumulative investment costs by 2050, it is projected to generate $111 billion in cumulative co-benefits through increased real GDP and avoid $89 billion in costs, primarily in energy. Social co-benefits include an average of 672,000 additional green jobs and significant increases in disposable incomes (10.5 percent by 2030 and 53.1 percent by 2050). The benefit-cost ratio for investments in mitigation and adaptation is estimated to rise from 1.04 in 2030 to 2.99 by 2050.

The study examines Ethiopia's efforts to align climate change mitigation and adaptation with national development strategies, specifically analyzing the role of the Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy (CRGE), the 10-Year Development Plan (10YDP), and the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). It finds that while mainstreaming is relatively strong during the planning phase, it remains weak during implementation due to poor institutional capacity, limited technical expertise at national and local levels, and inadequate monitoring and tracking systems. The paper recommends adopting a blend of bottom-up and top-down approaches, aligning climate tracking mechanisms with national economic systems, and increasing stakeholder engagement to ensure climate actions are routinely integrated throughout the entire policy cycle.

The paper analyzes three case studies—water scarcity in Bhutan, landscape degradation in Ethiopia, and agricultural shifts in Costa Rica—to highlight the need for technical and financial support in transformative adaptation. It identifies community-led planning and change agents as drivers of success, while noting that a lack of systems data and M&E infrastructure limits scalability. Specific recommendations include investing in automated monitoring, integrating local knowledge, and providing targeted credit for farmers transitioning to new livelihoods.

The document argues that Ethiopia's current economic development targets, as outlined in the 10-Year Development Plan (10-YDP), may be unsustainable because they increase water stress and climate vulnerability. While climate action is increasingly integrated into economic planning, the paper finds that national planning fails to adequately account for water resource requirements and their vulnerability to climate shocks. The authors suggest that water use efficiency alone is insufficient and call for proactive, cross-sectoral, and multilevel water-sensitive governance to prevent water challenges from undermining development gains.

The paper analyzes 124 Chinese overseas investments in wind and solar energy across 33 countries, identifying that these investments are primarily driven by excess domestic manufacturing capacity, state-owned bank financing, and host-country incentives. While concentrated in developed nations like the US and Germany, investments also reach developing countries such as Ethiopia and Pakistan, with a significant portion focused on electricity generation via joint ventures.

The document argues that Ethiopia's efforts to combat land degradation and water insecurity are hindered by inadequate financing and unsustainable interventions. It proposes shifting toward nature-based solutions (NBS) funded by diversified sources, including public, philanthropic, and private capital. The paper specifically examines water funds, payments for ecosystem services, and debt-for-nature swaps as promising mechanisms to attract domestic and international investment and ensure long-term sustainability of watershed management.

The ACWA Platform is a pan-African coalition led by WRI and various partners to address projected tripling of water demand and extreme climate risks in African cities by 2050. It operates alongside the ACWA Fund, a blended finance instrument providing grants and investments to transform strategic plans into investment-ready projects. The platform focuses on nine strategic priorities, including prioritizing vulnerable communities and leveraging emerging technology, with a goal to increase water resilience in 100 city-regions by 2032.

The transport sector accounts for 24% of global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, with road transport comprising nearly three-quarters of that total. To limit global warming to 1.5 °C, the IPCC projects the transport sector must be zero-emission by 2050. WRI employs a systems-thinking approach to decarbonization, focusing on eight key areas: clean energy integration, roadmapping and policy, fleet electrification, sustainable e-mobility, integrated climate planning, equitable transition, consumer behavior, and sustainable materials. WRI's global team of over 100 experts provides research, implementation support, and stakeholder coordination to ensure the transition enhances social equity and minimizes ecological damage.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is implementing a three-year initiative (2022-2024) in the Tana Subbasin of Ethiopia, specifically within the North Mecha, Farta, and Dera woredas of the Amhara Region. The project aims to reduce water stress and increase climate resilience by strengthening data systems, analytical capacities, and cross-sectoral coordination. It employs an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach to balance water demand with available supplies and protect the watersheds that support water provision. The project is structured around four objectives: building capacity for water-and climate-wise decisions, institutionalizing IWRM, implementing watershed restoration in the Koga micro-watershed, and advocating for these solutions nationally and internationally.

The WRI Results Framework establishes a structured system to plan and evaluate programmatic progress across three primary human systems: food, land & water; energy; and cities. It sets specific global targets for 2030 and WRI intervention targets for 2027, focusing on outcomes such as reducing agricultural land demand by 100 Mha, increasing the share of zero-carbon electricity by 9% in target geographies, and improving urban climate resilience. The framework integrates Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and utilizes a tiered approach of global, intervention, and country-specific targets, supported by impact indicators for people, nature, and climate.

The WRI Water Program in Ethiopia focuses on three strategic areas: analyzing water risk through modeling and mapping, promoting healthy watersheds via nature-based solutions, and enhancing urban water resilience in cities like Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The program collaborates with Ethiopian government entities, including the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, to integrate water and climate constraints into national development planning and to protect ecosystems that secure long-term water supplies.

WRI's 2026–2032 strategy for Ethiopia focuses on three interconnected systems—cities, energy, and food, land, and water—to drive a low-carbon transition. The plan targets specific river basins and cities to implement nature-based solutions, expand renewable energy access, and promote regenerative agriculture, supported by improvements in national governance and finance.

The WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities employs an integrated approach combining data-driven research and long-term city partnerships to address urban challenges in land use, mobility, and energy efficiency. The organization focuses on the global south, implementing projects such as low-emission zones in Beijing, sustainable housing standards in Brazil, and last-mile mobility solutions in Bengaluru. Its strategy emphasizes scaling road-tested solutions through national policy guidance and global coalitions to help cities decarbonize and improve equitable access to core services.

The Humbo project in Ethiopia restored 2,700 hectares of land from 2006 onwards using Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR), a low-cost method where farmers prune native tree stumps and root systems. Supported by World Vision and the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund, the project integrated carbon sequestration payments with community-led land management. Key success factors included secure land rights, the use of endemic species, and the creation of community cooperatives. While the project improved soil health, reduced erosion, and increased firewood availability, it faced challenges regarding the high transaction costs of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) compliance and delays in carbon payments.