Search Climate Insights Directory

The document explains that Adaptation Communications (ADCOMs) are optional reports under the Paris Agreement used by countries to share climate adaptation priorities, needs, and lessons. It outlines four main objectives: increasing attention to adaptation, strengthening support for developing countries, contributing to the Global Stocktake, and improving knowledge of adaptation measures. Countries can submit ADCOMs as standalone documents, jointly with other reports, or as components of existing documents like NDCs or NAPs to minimize administrative burdens. The text emphasizes that ADCOMs are country-driven, flexible, and not intended for direct comparison between parties.

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.

SEforALL reports on its leadership in organizing Ministerial Thematic Forums to secure Energy Compacts, its advocacy for eradicating energy poverty within the G20, and its technical support for national energy transitions in countries such as Nigeria and Rwanda. The organization also highlights the launch of practitioner tools for mini-grid emissions and sustainable cooling, alongside diplomatic engagements with the UAE and the US to accelerate the global energy transition toward SDG7.

The paper examines how the APRM's Expanded Mandate has revitalized the agency by introducing targeted reviews and monitoring roles for Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, while cautioning that these additions may distract from its core mission of comprehensive country reviews. It highlights the role of the 'Kagame Reforms' and the leadership of CEO Prof. Eddy Maloka in restoring institutional stability and financial predictability. The author argues that the APRM must now consolidate these gains, rationalizing its activities to ensure that new instruments, such as National Governance Reports, do not become weak substitutes for rigorous peer reviews.

The GCF's Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) assessed four pilot RFP programmes: Enhanced Direct Access (EDA), Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME), Mobilizing Funds at Scale (MFS), and REDD+ Results-based Payments (REDD+). The assessment concludes that while the RFPs are relevant to the GCF mandate and country needs, they have not been used effectively as a modality. Key failures include a lack of incentives for proponents, an inability to attract new accredited entities, and a project cycle that remains as complex and lengthy as the regular Proposal Appraisal Process (PAP). The REDD+ RFP was the most successful due to its tailored process and specialized expertise. The IEU recommends establishing the RFP as a formal institutional modality with standardized processes, transparent topic selection based on portfolio gap analysis, and incentives such as simplified accreditation.

The document examines the intersection of power-sharing institutions and gender equality, noting that while power-sharing is a common tool for peacebuilding, it is often 'gender blind'. It argues that consociational models focusing on ethno-national identity can risk embedding patriarchal attitudes or sacrificing women's claims for equality to maintain communal unity. However, the authors suggest that because power-sharing already utilizes group proportions and quotas, it provides a 'natural environment' for securing gender-based quotas. The briefing highlights that power-sharing agreements are seven times more likely to have gender quotas than those without such provisions.

The report details SEforALL's efforts over a 100-day period to accelerate the clean energy transition. Key activities include the launch of the 'Be Bold' campaign, coordination of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy and its Energy Compacts, and supporting the COP26 Energy Transition Council. The organization also highlights research on sustainable cooling, a youth summit, and specific technical assistance for energy access in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, alongside a new healthcare electrification partnership with USAID and Power Africa.

The UNEP Regional Seas Programme employs a regionalized approach to ocean governance, coordinating actions across 18 Conventions and Action Plans involving over 146 countries. While it has achieved significant milestones in pollution management and biodiversity conservation, its effectiveness is hindered by political instability, funding gaps, and weak enforcement.

The author argues that the term 'climate refugee' is legally inaccurate and oversimplifies the multi-causal nature of migration, where climate change acts as a 'threat multiplier'. The text disputes the narrative of mass migration from the Global South to Europe, noting that most climate-induced movement is internal. It suggests that planned, voluntary migration can be a 'triple win' for migrants, origin communities, and destination areas. The document calls for integrated governance and the use of tools like the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to address displacement.

The Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission (ERC), established in 2019, faces significant operational and political hurdles that hinder its ability to implement substantive reconciliation activities. The report identifies a lack of clarity regarding the Commission's material and temporal mandates, an oversized and technically under-qualified membership, and a lack of independence and public trust. It recommends that the Ethiopian government revise the ERC's founding proclamation to specify its focus on gross human rights violations and recurrent conflicts, restructure the Commission to be leaner and more expert-led, and empower it to recommend reparations and conditional amnesties. Furthermore, the report emphasizes that the ERC's success depends on a conducive political environment fostered by an inclusive national dialogue.

The report analyzes the mini-grid sectors in Sierra Leone and Nigeria, focusing on regulatory frameworks, tariff structures, subsidies, and the productive use of energy (PUE). It highlights that while Sierra Leone has established a regulatory framework, its market is nascent and characterized by a top-down, donor-funded approach, whereas Nigeria has a more mature, private-sector-led market. Key findings emphasize the need for Sierra Leone to shift toward a bottom-up approach, implement results-based financing (RBF), and integrate PUE to improve the commercial viability of mini-grids and reduce end-user tariffs.

The document examines the systemic link between gender equality and sustainable development, asserting that discriminatory social norms and legal barriers hinder environmental and economic progress. It highlights the economic costs of gender inequality, the historical evolution of UN gender policies, and the specific benefits of women's leadership in climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and natural resource governance. The briefing concludes with recommendations for gender-responsive policies, increased funding for women-led organizations, and ensuring women's control over productive resources to meet the 2030 Agenda.

The document is an annotated bibliography compiled by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) to map resources on gender in large-scale mining governance. It covers a wide range of themes, including women's employment, gender-based violence, community engagement, and impact assessments. The bibliography highlights the systemic underrepresentation of women in mining leadership—with less than one-fifth of global leadership positions held by women—and the disproportionate negative impacts of mining on women in affected communities. It identifies tools for gender-responsive due diligence, the importance of intersectional analysis (particularly for Indigenous women), and the correlation between gender diversity on corporate boards and improved company performance.

The report assesses the mini-grid sectors in Sierra Leone and Nigeria, focusing on regulatory frameworks, tariffs, subsidies, and productive use of electricity (PUE). It highlights that Sierra Leone's mini-grid tariffs (averaging USD 0.79/kWh) are higher than Nigeria's (averaging USD 0.58/kWh) due to differences in market scale, planning approaches, and household income. The document recommends that Sierra Leone adopt a long-term national strategy, streamline import duty exemptions, and implement a hybrid up-front cash grant/results-based financing (RBF) subsidy scheme to lower costs and attract private investment.

Developing countries are increasingly facing 'compound shocks'—simultaneous or sequential disruptive events like pandemics, economic crises, and climate-driven disasters—which deplete budgets and cause cascading system failures. The authors argue that the current disaster risk finance architecture over-incentivizes ex post relief over ex ante preparedness. To address this, they propose that the World Bank's IDA offer softer financing terms (higher grant components) to countries that commit to specific resilience investments in data collection, regulatory reform, budgetary frameworks, and early warning systems. Additionally, they recommend introducing automatic 'disaster clauses' in IDA debt to defer payments following major shocks, similar to models used by Grenada and Barbados. Finally, the document proposes transforming the Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF) into a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) to increase its operational independence, broaden its donor base beyond Germany and the United Kingdom, and better support regional risk pools and risk measurement capacity.

The document defines confidence-building measures (CBMs) as actions intended to increase trust and transparency between conflict parties. It categorizes CBMs into five types—political, economic, environmental, societal, and cultural—and outlines ten characteristics of successful measures, emphasizing the need for gendered conflict resolution analysis. The briefing highlights specific cases where women's engagement influenced peace processes in Yemen, Kenya, Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Colombia, Northern Ireland, and the former Yugoslavia, concluding with recommendations for gender-inclusive, multi-track approaches to peace.

The policy brief examines how private sector development (PSD) in fragile states often exacerbates conflict by mirroring patronage politics and corruption. It argues that PSD should be treated as a continuation of peace negotiations, requiring broad-based social and political consensus on economic matters. The author recommends that the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) leverage its mandate to promote 'peace-positive' PSD, which prioritizes the reduction of horizontal inequalities, stimulates broad-based growth, and utilizes 'infrastructures for peace' to manage conflict risks. The brief suggests that companies should be treated as partners in peacebuilding, with their access to opportunities conditioned on their accountability for impacts.

The NAP Global Network's 2020-2021 report highlights a shift toward short-term technical assistance via its Country Support Hub and a focus on transitioning from adaptation planning to implementation. Key achievements include supporting 20 countries with their first Adaptation Communications (ADCOMs), facilitating peer learning on gender-responsive action and conflict-sensitive planning, and developing knowledge products on climate and disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI). The Network's 2025 strategy emphasizes enhancing monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems and elevating underrepresented voices, particularly women, in adaptation decision-making.

SEforALL's 100 Days Report details its leadership in planning the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy and COP26, its research on chronic underinvestment in energy finance, and its country-level support for energy access and COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Africa and South Asia.

The 2021 Annual Monitoring Review details SEforALL's efforts to accelerate universal energy access and a just energy transition. Key achievements include the coordination of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), which articulated over USD 600 billion in finance through more than 200 Energy Compacts. The organization provided targeted support to 27 countries, with significant focus on Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. While the COVID-19 pandemic delayed some deliverables and funding for certain programmes, SEforALL reported progress in electrifying 265 healthcare facilities and leveraging USD 216.9 million for sustainable cooling. The report also highlights the 'Women at the Forefront' initiative, which provided technical training to 100 women in Kenya.