Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the link between environmental degradation and the rising frequency of zoonotic diseases, using COVID-19 as a primary example. It identifies land-use change for agriculture and the trade of high-risk wildlife as the primary drivers of pathogen spillover. The document proposes a 'New Deal for Nature and People' focusing on halting high-risk wildlife trade, eliminating deforestation from supply chains, and implementing a 'One Health' approach to economic recovery.

The document argues that standard lockdown measures are often impractical and potentially more damaging than COVID-19 in Africa due to high poverty levels, weak democratic institutions, and a large informal economy. It highlights risks such as the erosion of democratic processes, food insecurity, and a disproportionate burden on women. The author advocates for localized, flexible responses and calls for wealthier Northern states to provide debt cancellations and aid to prevent regional instability.

The policy brief examines the conflict between the boom in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and the sustainability of smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. While ASM provides immediate income and employment, it often displaces farmers, contaminates water sources with mercury and cyanide, and draws young labor away from agriculture. The document highlights that ASM is frequently an unsustainable tool for poverty reduction due to the non-renewable nature of minerals and the shift toward capital-intensive operations funded by external investors. It recommends strengthening institutional capacity, implementing rigorous land-use mapping, and dismantling patronage structures to ensure the coexistence of mining and farming.

The Freetown WASH and Aquatic Environment Revamping Program is a proposed project in Sierra Leone designed to address climate vulnerabilities affecting water security and forest ecosystems. With a total indicative cost of USD 219 million, the program combines large-scale infrastructure rehabilitation—such as water treatment plants and distribution networks—with GCF-funded climate-specific interventions. These include climate-resilient catchment-based water resources management and forest management to protect the Western Area Protected Forest. The project aims to benefit approximately 1.4 million residents, improve water access for 800,000 people, and create 2,700 jobs, while achieving an estimated mitigation impact of 22.5 tCO2eq through the creation of carbon sinks in 30,000 hectares of protected forest.

The document argues that the African Union's PCRD framework is essential for youth-focused peacebuilding, but its success depends on prioritising socio-economic and political opportunities for young people. It highlights that the absence of inclusive youth policies increases the risk of returning to violence. While some states like Côte d'Ivoire have established dedicated youth ministries to foster policy development, others like Libya and the Central African Republic struggle with implementation due to fragile governance and recurring conflict. The brief recommends that the AU and member states prioritise early youth policy development, create dedicated youth ministries, and ensure all policies are accompanied by monitorable action plans.

The SDG16DI 2020 Global Report argues that official data from National Statistical Offices (NSOs) are often insufficient, unreliable, or unavailable for monitoring SDG16 targets, particularly regarding conflict-related deaths, corruption, and press freedom. It highlights the critical role of 'non-official data'—produced by NGOs and academic institutions—in filling these gaps. The report provides case studies on sex-disaggregated data for violent deaths, trade-related illicit financial flows in developing nations, corruption and vote-buying in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the use of expert-based indices to measure representative decision-making. It also notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated governance challenges while simultaneously reducing the capacity of NSOs to collect data.

The guide argues that sustainable mini-grid deployment requires a balance between government control, public funding, and retail tariffs. It introduces 'fourth generation mini-grids' as a tool for rural industrialization and provides a decision tree to help governments select appropriate delivery models, such as ESCO or split-asset models. Key recommendations include mitigating demand and termination risks through flexible contracts and phased implementation, and utilizing the 'Cost of Service' model to ensure financial viability. The document emphasizes that scaling requires efficient, digitalized administrative processes and portfolio-based licensing to reduce bureaucratic burdens.

The document argues that sustainable rural electrification requires a stable regulatory framework that balances government control, public funding, and consumer tariffs. It introduces 'fourth-generation' mini-grids that integrate productive use of energy to drive rural industrialization. The guide provides a decision tree to help governments select implementation models—ranging from public utility-led to private-sector driven—and details mechanisms for risk mitigation regarding demand volatility and project termination.

The document outlines strategies for implementing clean energy mini-grids, emphasizing the need for a balance between government control, financial subsidies, and consumer tariffs. It introduces 'fourth-generation mini-grids' as tools for rural industrialization and provides a decision-making matrix to help governments select the most appropriate delivery model based on their financial and operational capacities.

SEforALL's 100 Days Report details the organization's efforts to integrate sustainable energy into COVID-19 recovery plans through 'Recover Better' guides for Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. The report highlights the pandemic's severe impact on the off-grid sector, where surveyed companies expect revenue losses between 27% and 40%. It also outlines the launch of the 'Powering Healthcare' resource hub and the 'Chilling Prospects 2020' report, which identifies that 1.02 billion people lack cooling access. Strategically, SEforALL has approved a new Three-Year Business Plan (2021-2023) focusing on high-level advocacy and country-specific implementation across four thematic areas: Energy Diplomacy and Advocacy, Energy Access and Closing the Gap, Energy Transitions and Climate, and Intersection with other SDGs.

The project has achieved moderately satisfactory progress, with significant successes in soy (Cerrado agreement and Soy Toolkit) and supply chain transparency (Trase platform). However, progress in Indonesia's palm oil market and Paraguay's beef sector has been slower due to delays in consumer awareness and a lack of consensus on sustainability standards. The evaluation recommends strengthening communication strategies in Indonesia and adopting a systems approach in Paraguay to better integrate production, demand, and finance.

The document examines the rollout of Community Health Clubs (CHCs) in Rwanda, highlighting a gap between national policy and local implementation. While the model is praised for its cultural alignment and focus on positive peer pressure, it suffers from fragmented, donor-driven funding, poor coordination between districts and NGOs, and a lack of harmonized monitoring. The report emphasizes the need for increased government funding, inclusive strategies to reach vulnerable groups and men, and a shift toward district-level ownership to ensure sustainable hygiene and sanitation behaviour change.

Smiling Through Light is a social enterprise in Sierra Leone that recruits and trains local women to sell solar-powered lamps, addressing a national electricity access rate of 13 percent. Founded by Mariama Kamara, the business aims to transition women from energy consumers to leaders in the energy transition. In 2019, the company created 15 local jobs and sold approximately 700 solar products. The enterprise also launched the 'One Child One Lamp' campaign, providing lighting to about 400 children in Kamayama, which reportedly improved students' grades and safety. Kamara aims to expand the network to 300-500 women within five years and eventually enter Guinea and Liberia, though she notes that scaling is hindered by investor risk aversion toward African entrepreneurs, particularly young women.

The document details the efforts of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) to support Namibian civil society organisations (CSOs) in engaging with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Following Namibia's accession to the APRM in January 2017, CSOs formed a working group in 2018 to identify 13 critical governance issues and produce a written submission presented on 21 June 2019. The brief outlines ten lessons for other countries, emphasizing the need for early familiarity with the APRM, strategic issue selection, government engagement to build trust, and the use of peer learning from other states. It concludes that the process not only pressured the Namibian government to accelerate its national APRM process but also led to the creation of 'Civic +264', a new information hub for civil society coordination.

The document examines the use of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and blockchain in the mineral sector to address conflict minerals and improve supply chain management. While blockchain offers a tamper-proof record of transactions and origin, the authors argue that it cannot guarantee socially or environmentally responsible practices on its own and must be coupled with rigorous due diligence. The brief highlights the risk of digital exclusion for artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) and the potential for private data ownership to marginalize upstream actors. It recommends that blockchain initiatives integrate recognized responsible mining standards, ensure data transparency, and design inclusive protocols for mining communities.

The document provides a comparative overview of National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes in multiple countries, detailing their specific strategic approaches, priority sectors, and implementation milestones. It emphasizes the integration of climate adaptation into national development planning, the importance of cross-sectoral coordination, and the mobilization of climate finance to build resilience against diverse hazards such as sea-level rise, droughts, and extreme weather events.

The document challenges the assumption that peace is inherently good for all businesses, arguing that many companies operating in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) may actually benefit from the status quo or face severe reprisals for engaging in peacebuilding. It contends that policies focusing solely on GDP growth or 'de-risking' investment without considering conflict dynamics can exacerbate fragility. The author urges 'systems shapers'—those who finance and regulate the private sector—to adopt conflict-sensitive approaches and ensure corporate accountability to prevent the private sector from becoming a vector for instability.

The document critiques the EU's reliance on 'formalisation'—the use of legalisation and transparency measures—to govern natural resource sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Using case studies from Sierra Leone's diamond sector and Liberia's forest sector, it argues that these technocratic reforms often fail to improve the lives of local citizens and can even entrench predatory practices. The author proposes adopting a UN-developed 'human security' approach, which prioritises the security of individuals over the security of the state and focuses on tangible, bottom-up results at the local level.

The document argues that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 requires a shift from fragmented electrification efforts to Integrated Electrification Pathways (IEPs). IEPs are defined as inclusive planning approaches that leverage a mix of grid, mini-grid, and off-grid technologies based on human needs and sustainable development goals. The guide outlines four key features of IEPs—contextualizing access within human needs, considering all technological delivery models, securing high-level political commitment, and implementing market-enabling policies—and provides a five-step planning process. This process includes establishing a coordinating body, engaging experts, utilizing geospatial data and modeling tools, developing supportive regulations, and mobilizing diverse finance to support both developers and consumers.

Sierra Leone is developing its first National Adaptation Plan (NAP) framework to coordinate institutional adaptation, mobilize resources, and reduce vulnerability to climate change. The process identifies agriculture, biodiversity, fisheries, and tourism as priority sectors for adaptation. Key observed and anticipated climate impacts include coastal erosion, sea-level rise, mangrove destruction, saline water intrusion in aquifers, seaweed invasion, landslides, flooding, and extreme weather events. The document also maps the evolution of the country's climate policy milestones from the 2007 National Climate Change Strategy and Action plan to the 2019 finalization of the NAP Framework.