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The August 2024 RAMP Roundup details the initiative's efforts to enhance climate resilience through strategic engagements with government ministries and universities in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. Key activities include the launch of a 'Foundations Course' in Uganda, the use of the IMF's DIGNAD model for macro-climate modelling, and the establishment of a University Network Seminar Series. The newsletter also highlights research grants on disaster risk management and adaptation finance in Tanzania, Bangladesh, and sub-Saharan Africa, while noting that every dollar invested in adaptation can yield a return of $2 to $10.

The report analyzes national MEL systems for climate adaptation in nine countries, noting progress since 2014 in integrating MEL into national adaptation plans (NAPs). While monitoring and reporting are common, evaluation and learning activities are less prominent. The study finds that the systematic integration of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) is insufficient, though Kenya and Vietnam provide examples of specific GESI indicators. It also emphasizes the link between national systems and global UNFCCC processes, such as the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience.

Africa possesses vast untapped renewable energy resources, including 60% of global solar resources, yet accounts for only 1.6% of global installed renewable capacity. The continent faces significant barriers to energy transition, including a massive financing gap—requiring $557 billion by 2030—and a heavy reliance on imported technologies, with Africa contributing less than 1% of global clean energy patent applications. While the region holds 40% of global critical mineral reserves essential for green technologies, it primarily serves as a raw material supplier. The document advocates for strengthened partnerships with the G20 and Global North to improve climate finance, facilitate technology transfer, and develop local green value chains to move beyond the export of primary commodities.

Friends of the Earth Africa rejects the claim that fossil fuel expansion serves African interests, asserting that such projects lead to environmental degradation and human rights abuses rather than energy access. The organization advocates for a people-led transition to clean energy, the rejection of gas as a transition fuel, and the demand for technology transfers and grants to cover ecological debts owed to the region.

The document argues that loss and damage (L&D) finance is a matter of climate justice and that the Global South must maintain a unified negotiating position to secure grants-based funding. It reviews the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund and the Santiago Network, while warning against the use of loans that increase external debt. The brief highlights the strategic role of Brazil's G20 presidency and COP30 in advancing a holistic development and environment agenda, and calls for the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance to include separate sub-goals for adaptation and L&D to prevent double counting.

China has positioned itself as a leader in green technology transfer to the Global South, utilizing the Belt and Road Initiative and the South–South Climate Cooperation Fund to deploy renewable energy, green agriculture, and electric vehicle technologies. While achieving significant scale—including exporting photovoltaic modules to over 100 countries—the brief identifies critical challenges: a gap between environmental commitments and actual impacts, deficiencies in ESG disclosure, geopolitical tensions, and limited local operational capacity. To improve sustainability, the document recommends enhancing transparency, aligning with global ESG standards, and fostering locally led innovation ecosystems through active partner ownership and capacity building.

The document examines how national bans and restrictions on plastic products implemented by WTO members have created trade frictions due to a lack of global harmonization. It aims to provide policy-makers with guidance to avoid such conflicts as countries work toward an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution by the end of 2024.

The study examines how climate change disrupts food production systems in Kenya's arid and semi-arid rangelands, identifying that reduced water availability and temperature variability threaten value chain sustainability. It argues that resilience requires integrating tailored strategies, improving access to climate information services, and fostering collaboration between government, private sector, and local communities to mitigate economic losses and food insecurity.

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes land use and land cover (LULC) data from 2001, 2011, and 2021 to project outcomes for 2050 in four arid and semiarid counties in Kenya. The study evaluates three scenarios—achieving 10% forest cover, converting forests to croplands, and restoring degraded forests—to guide sustainable land management and meet Kenyan government climate commitments.

The CCFLA and Urban-Act National Assessment Tool provides a framework for national governments to evaluate the regulatory, financial, and institutional conditions that affect urban climate finance. The tool consists of 64 dimensions across four categories: Climate Policy, Budget and Finance, Climate Data, and Vertical and Horizontal Coordination. It aims to identify strengths and gaps in national frameworks to facilitate recommendations for improving subnational access to finance, having been piloted in India and Indonesia.

The report forecasts that Africa will create between 1.5 and 3.3 million new direct green jobs by 2030 across 12 material value chains. The energy and power sector is the primary driver, with solar energy alone projected to generate up to 1.7 million jobs. The analysis highlights a significant need for both unskilled labor (40% of total) and specialized skills (30%), particularly in solar, climate-smart agriculture, and waste recycling. Five focus countries—South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the DRC—are expected to contribute up to 720,000 of these jobs, with South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria showing the highest potential. The report emphasizes that while long-term estimates suggest up to 100 million green jobs by 2050, immediate investment in human capital and vocational training is required to realize this growth.

The document argues that the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) reduces the effectiveness of traditional corporate tax incentives in SEZs, such as tax holidays and reduced rates, for large multinational enterprises. It suggests that countries should shift from profit-based tax competition toward improving the overall investment environment and utilizing non-fiscal incentives. The brief also warns of legal risks associated with reforming these incentives, specifically regarding investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) and stabilization clauses, while recommending that SEZs be leveraged to support the energy transition and renewable energy investment.

The document analyzes how the OECD's Pillar Two GloBE rules, which mandate a 15% minimum effective tax rate for large multinationals, undermine traditional SEZ tax incentives like corporate income tax exemptions. It argues that such incentives are often ineffective for long-term competitiveness and recommends that countries shift toward non-fiscal incentives, cost-based incentives, and sustainable energy investments to avoid revenue loss to other jurisdictions.

The report analyzes MEL systems for climate change adaptation in Canada, France, Kenya, Namibia, Peru, Somalia, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. It finds that while all nine countries have initiated MEL efforts, most focus on monitoring and progress reporting, with evaluation and learning remaining less developed. The study emphasizes that MEL systems are iterative, context-specific processes rather than one-size-fits-all blueprints, and highlights a significant increase in the integration of MEL frameworks into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) over the last decade.

The document examines the synergy between the Kenya Flower Council's (KFC) voluntary Flower and Ornamental Sustainability Standard (FOSS) and the government's mandatory Kenya Standard 1758 (KS 1758). It highlights how this public-private collaboration reduces compliance costs for producers, improves market access to the EU and other global markets, and enhances worker welfare and environmental management. The authors argue that this model of benchmarking standards can be replicated in other Kenyan agricultural value chains, such as grains, to address safety and quality issues.

China has positioned itself as a leader in green technology innovation, utilizing aid, trade, and investment to support the energy transition in the Global South. Through mechanisms like the Belt and Road Initiative and the South–South Climate Cooperation Fund, China has deployed renewable energy, electric vehicles, and sustainable agricultural technologies across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. However, the effectiveness of these partnerships is hindered by gaps between environmental commitments and actual impacts, limited local operational capacity, geopolitical tensions with Western nations, and difficulties in meeting global ESG standards.

Africa possesses vast untapped renewable energy resources and critical minerals but faces significant barriers in financing, technology ownership, and value chain integration. While some progress has been made in solar, wind, and hydropower, the continent remains heavily reliant on imports for technology and patents. The document argues for strengthened partnerships, increased climate finance from the Global North, and the development of local manufacturing to ensure a just energy transition.

The study analyzes LULC trends in Turkana, Narok, West Pokot, and Elgeyo Marakwet counties, finding that achieving a 10% forest cover target yields the most favorable environmental and agricultural outcomes by 2050. It warns against the 'Shamba system' of forest-to-cropland conversion and highlights the threat of invasive species, particularly Prosopis juliflora, in arid regions.

The report analyzes seven categories of enclosure-based and open measurement methods for greenhouse gas emissions in sanitation systems. It finds that while enclosure-based methods like flux chambers are widely used, they are limited by scale. Emerging optical and remote sensing methods offer broader coverage but are constrained by high costs. The document highlights a critical lack of empirical data for non-sewered sanitation in low- and middle-income countries and advocates for standardized, affordable methodologies and increased collaboration to improve national greenhouse gas inventories.

The case study examines how the 2020 flooding of Lake Naivasha and subsequent water level rise exacerbated vulnerabilities in the Kihoto informal settlement. Findings indicate that the combined impact of floods, displacement, and the COVID-19 pandemic severely eroded long-term resilience, particularly for women aged 18-35 and those employed in horticulture and agriculture. The report highlights that a lack of official response capacity and limited access to basic services like sanitation and healthcare further increased displacement risks and slowed economic recovery.