Jointly prepared by IISD, OCI and ODI, this country study and accompanying data sheet compiles publicly available information on fossil fuel production subsidies in Indonesia in 2013 and 2014.

It is a background paper to the report Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production and provides a baseline to track progress on the phase-out of such subsidies as part of a wider global energy transition.

To download the related Indonesia Excel information click here.

Jointly prepared by IISD, OCI and ODI, this country study and accompanying data sheet compiles publicly available information on fossil fuel production subsidies in France in 2013 and 2014.

It is a background paper to the report Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production and provides a baseline to track progress on the phase-out of such subsidies as part of a wider global energy transition.

To download the related France Excel information click here.

This report discusses the current situation of the energy efficiency sector in India, delves into some of the causes hindering the development of this market and explains why the lack of commercial bank financing is one of the main barriers for attaining higher energy savings.

The discussion then moves to proposing two innovative business models to overcome this funding barrier. The first model is a bespoke financing protocol that would serve as a blueprint for banks to reduce perceived risks, learn how to appraise energy savings as cash flows to back loans, and launch energy efficiency as a new credit line. The second proposal is a business model for energy efficiency deal aggregation as a viable strategy for banks to deleverage their balance sheet while creating a broader investor base for energy efficiency projects.

If implemented, these business models may not only prove to be valuable tools for driving energy efficiency in India, but could also bring additional benefits to the country, represented in the development of local capital markets and the appearance of more sophisticated investment products. The document concludes that although the knowledge for implementing these ideas is already there, not many public statements have signaled a government commitment to tackle energy security concerns from the supply side. India seems to be ready to enter into an age of attractive economic development, but doing this through an energy efficiency path requires redefining current public priorities.

Temperatures in the Sahel have risen by nearly 1°C since 1970, at a rate nearly twice the global average. The region faces increasingly variable rainfall, and more frequent droughts and storms.

For many, it is a global hotspot for climate change. At the same time, the Sahel's highly fragile states have limited capacities to adapt to climate-related shocks. Moreover, the region’s weak institutions, political instability, poverty, inequality and historical grievances have the potential to combine with climate change to exacerbate existing tensions and trigger new conflicts. This policy brief, written for FRIDE, explores how international actors can help states across the Sahel address their interrelated climate and conflict challenges by supporting peacebuilding interventions that help build resilience to climate change and climate change responses that help avoid conflict.

This policy brief was posted with the permission of Fride http://fride.org.

The rise of foreign investment in farmland over the past decade is partly driven by a search for access to water resources.

Land without water has no value; it is the key ingredient for agricultural production. Over 70 per cent of all freshwater resources are used for agricultural production. However, the value of water has yet to be fully understood or appreciated, and its fundamental role is often overlooked in the context of farmland investments. This report, focused on Africa, provides an overview of the international legal regimes governing water rights and investment in land and the implications for foreign investors, governments and communities.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of progress on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, Ensuring Environmental Sustainability, based on official indicators and data. Relying on statistical evidence, the report pinpoints what goals and targets have been met, by when and where, and in what areas has progress been inadequate compared to national baselines.

The research found connections clearly showing that healthy ecosystems are a prerequisite to meeting some of the most essential goals of global development. Protecting the integrity of forests, the health of fish stocks or keeping the ozone layer intact are of fundamental, not tangential, importance for human well-being. This is particularly the case for the poorest and most vulnerable, who are the most likely to directly depend on the provisions of these aspects of the environment for their well-being and often survival. Efforts to reduce extreme poverty are inseparable from efforts to keep ecosystems and environmental conditions healthy and robust.

This paper looks at infrastructure development from the specific angle of leveraging private finance in order to mainstream green infrastructure financing using existing credit-enhancement schemes.

While there are a large number of credit-enhancement schemes offered by multilateral development banks (MDBs), the uptake of such schemes is minimal due to several factors. Risk mitigation is key to securing private financing. The credit-enhancement method provides a medium wherein the exposure for the lending institution is comparatively less and the benefits for the recipient borrower are high.

This paper seeks to provide an overview of the schemes on offer by MDBs and international financial institutions (IFIs) to create a basis of comprehension for all players involved—governments, project developers, local lenders and MDBs. Anecdotal and analytical information gathered through case summaries and successful projects help provide a path for future projects in mitigating risk and obtaining financing. The case studies include green infrastructure as well in order to understand the steps necessary for success in more technical and technologically challenging projects.

A more effective utilization of available credit-enhancement schemes can be done through innovative combinations with greater knowledge dissemination and clear project risk identification.

Jointly prepared by IISD, OCI and ODI, this country study and accompanying data sheet compiles publicly available information on fossil fuel production subsidies in China in 2013 and 2014.

It is a background paper to the report Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production and provides a baseline to track progress on the phase-out of such subsidies as part of a wider global energy transition.

To download Mandarin Chinese language PDF from ODI click here.

To download the related China Excel information from ODI click here.

Jointly prepared by IISD, OCI and ODI, this country study and accompanying data sheet compiles publicly available information on fossil fuel production subsidies in Brazil in 2013 and 2014.

It is a background paper to the report Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production and provides a baseline to track progress on the phase-out of such subsidies as part of a wider global energy transition.

To download the related Brazil Excel information click here.

The vulnerability of populations in fragile states to weather and climate variability is typically much higher than in other countries. These countries, and their populations, face a higher exposure to climate change as a result of their geography.

They are also over-reliant on climate-dependent sectors of the economy, particularly rain-fed agriculture, and their histories of violence, poverty and weak governance serve to undermine resilience and capacities to respond to climate risks. As such, climate change poses a significant challenge to the transition of fragile states toward peace and stability. In order to address and reduce the risk that climate change and variability may pose to a fragile state’s population and to peacebuilding progress, policy- makers and peacebuilding practitioners must be able to access, understand and use information on the local, national and global climate. However, it is within these fragile contexts that climate information is often the weakest, if it exists at all.

This report provides peacebuilding practitioners with guidance for accessing and using climate data and information in fragile contexts. It describes some of the challenges to generating, accessing and understanding climate information in contexts of state fragility. It introduces the types of climate information relevant to national and international peacebuilding practitioners operating in fragile contexts and provides a review of relevant and accessible climate data. The report addresses how climate information can be effectively used in a peacebuilding context, and highlights some of the immediate priorities and sequencing needs for fragile states attempting to rebuild their national capacities to generate climate information.