Search Climate Insights Directory

This guide by the Climate Policy Initiative defines grants as direct fund transfers used to support projects with low commercial potential or to make them investment-ready. It details the types of grants, the risks they mitigate, the providers involved, and the capacity requirements for recipients across different market maturity levels.

This commentary by Mariann Bassey of Friends of the Earth Nigeria criticizes the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), describing it as a corporate-driven initiative funded by the Rockefeller and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations. The author argues that AGRA promotes a "technology push" focused on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hybrid seeds, and chemical inputs to benefit agribusiness giants like Monsanto, rather than supporting agro-ecological approaches and food sovereignty for African smallholder farmers.

This report by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) argues that rural poverty is inextricably linked to environmental degradation and the imposition of neoliberal economic models. It contends that the exploitation of natural resources by transnational corporations and the policies of international financial institutions (IFIs) exacerbate poverty, while community-led management of natural resources offers a sustainable path toward poverty eradication.

This report by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) examines the social and environmental consequences of privatizing water and biodiversity across 34 global case studies. It argues that neoliberal policies promoted by international financial institutions (IFIs) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) prioritize corporate profit over human rights and ecological sustainability, disproportionately marginalizing the poor and Indigenous Peoples.

A 2011 statement by Friends of the Earth International and partners rejecting the 'Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment' (RAI). The authors argue that large-scale land acquisitions are driven by financial speculation, violate human rights, and threaten food security, calling instead for the prohibition of land grabbing and the promotion of food sovereignty and peasant-led agriculture.

The Africa Pensions Supervisors’ Network Programme, supported by FSD Africa (2021-2025), aims to increase pension coverage and assets in Sub-Saharan Africa, where coverage is currently only 9.6%. The initiative focuses on creating regulatory environments that encourage long-term savings and the investment of pension assets into the real sector, including collaboration with the Africa Pensions Supervisors Forum (APSF).

This case study describes how the BimaLab insurtech accelerator, initiated by FSD Africa in partnership with the Swiss Re Foundation and Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), supported Soso Care, a health micro-insurance startup in Nigeria. Soso Care provides health insurance to low-income earners who pay premiums using recyclable waste.

The Venture Finance Portfolio document provides a detailed overview of various investment funds and venture-building platforms supported by FSD Africa and FSDAi. These entities focus on scaling climate-tech, gender-lens investing, and financial inclusion across Africa, utilizing a mix of equity, grants, and debt to catalyze private capital and drive sustainable economic growth.

This fact sheet describes the partnership between FSD Africa and the Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) from 2016 to 2021, aimed at closing the digital finance skills gap in low-middle income countries to improve the scale and sustainability of digital payment systems.

The RRI programme, a partnership between Cenfri and FSD Africa, aimed to increase financial inclusion and strengthen risk management in sub-Saharan Africa. It removed barriers for an estimated 5.6 million people, supported over 338,000 remittance users, and provided capacity-building to 750 regulators and 530 financial service providers. Key findings highlight the need for regional payment and data integration to support the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and suggest that simple adaptations to supervisory processes are more effective for regulators than complex regulatory sandboxes.

Minutes from the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) Steering Group meeting on July 28, 2018, detailing the postponement of the GEC global meeting to January 2019 to align with the UN PAGE Ministerial meeting, the appointment of Kamal Gueye to the Steering Group, and GEC's support for the Dutch government's dialogue on natural capital.

This report by the Green Economy Coalition reviews the first ten years of the SEED Awards (2005-2015), an initiative founded by UNEP, UNDP, and IUCN to support social and environmental enterprises. It analyzes the survival and impact of 202 SEED Winners across 37 countries, highlighting the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships and tailored support in fostering green and inclusive growth at the grassroots level.

The Green Outcomes Fund (GOF) is a pioneering climate finance instrument launched in January 2020 to incentivise investment in South Africa's green small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs). By using an outcomes-based payment model, the GOF provides grant funding to Catalytic Finance Partners (CFPs) who deploy private capital into green SMMEs, with reimbursements triggered by the creation of verified green outcomes, primarily permanent direct jobs.

This research paper by Colette van der Ven argues that African nations must proactively integrate circular economy principles into their clothing and textile industries to achieve sustainable industrialization (SDG 9) and sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12). The author highlights opportunities in sustainable input production, green manufacturing, and the repurposing of second-hand clothing imports to drive economic transformation and maintain competitiveness, particularly in the European Union market.

This report evaluates UNESCO's Community Multimedia Centres (CMC) initiative, which integrates community radio broadcasting with telecentre services (Internet and ICTs) to support community development. The evaluation, conducted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development in 2005, examines 39 pilot CMCs across Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean. It concludes that the hybrid model is an outstanding success in promoting social inclusion and cultural resilience, though it identifies challenges regarding financial sustainability, volunteer management, and internal UNESCO coordination.

This report, submitted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to the UNFCCC First Global Stocktake, analyzes the failure of governments to align public financial flows with the Paris Agreement. It argues that public support for fossil fuels remains high and often increases, creating a financial barrier to clean energy deployment. The document provides evidence of subsidy trends, the impact of COVID-19 recovery packages, and offers a framework for fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR) to accelerate the energy transition while ensuring social equity.

This white paper examines the integration of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) within sustainable public procurement (SPP), arguing that current models often fail to deliver the best value for taxpayers by overemphasizing upfront purchase prices over long-term operational and environmental costs. The authors identify systemic barriers—including conflicting capital and revenue budgets, a lack of professional expertise, and data gaps—and recommend that LCC be integrated into high-level public expenditure and resource allocation policies rather than remaining a routine procurement task.

This guide describes the process of participatory scenario development (PSD) for climate change adaptation, emphasizing the integration of stakeholder knowledge with scientific data. It outlines a five-step methodology and provides a detailed case study from the Lake Balaton region in Hungary to demonstrate how PSD can influence local and national adaptation policies.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the state of negotiations regarding Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) leading up to the 2009 COP 15 in Copenhagen. It examines the technical and political challenges surrounding the scope of REDD, financing mechanisms, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, and institutional governance, providing guidance for developing countries to navigate these negotiations.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra examines the role of services trade in transitioning to a circular economy. Based on a survey of 96 firms and 16 in-depth interviews, the report identifies key services—such as IT, R&D, and waste management—that enable circular business models. It analyzes the modes of service delivery, the impact of digitalization, and the regulatory barriers that hinder the international exchange of these services, ultimately proposing an integrated trade policy approach to support global resource efficiency.