In 2012 the Government of Manitoba released its environment plan, TomorrowNow.

Its commitments include creating a green economy action plan and updating the climate change plan for the Province of Manitoba.  In efforts to meet these commitments, the International Institute for Sustainable Development assisted the province in developing its innovative green economy action plan as well as updating its climate change plan to address the need to transition to a green economy and low-carbon development framework for Manitoba. The work was carried out through a series of dialogue sessions with key stakeholders on climate change and the green economy. This background paper provides information to the public about Manitoba’s building and energy sectors and their importance for the province to address climate change and strengthen its green economy.

Risk management is a core element of any business and this is no exception for the financial services industry, but the new risks and potential opportunities from climate change in particular are not typically taken into account.

The current lack of access to finance along agro-value chains constrains productivity and quality, resulting in limited economic returns and re-investment for all value chain actors, limited capacity for value addition and decreased ability to repay loans. However, awareness about climate risks is growing among financial institutions specifically, particularly in the insurance sector, and in the private sector more generally.

While the provision of agricultural finance that supports climate adaptation remains low, some successful models are emerging. For example, Centenary Rural Development Bank Ltd, one of the leading microfinance commercial banks in Uganda, is currently piloting a coffee credit scheme in Uganda. These models do not (yet) explicitly account for climate risks, but by improving access to finance at the farm level, they have the potential to reduce farmers’ vulnerability to shocks and stresses. They are often made possible through the rise of new information and communication technologies. The role of technology is expected to reduce financial transaction costs and improve access to inclusive financial services for farmers and other actors along value chains.

Limited access to financial resources is one of the key barriers to agro-value chain development and exacerbates the negative impacts of climate hazards. With an adequate enabling environment, improved access to finance can support climate adaptation along agro-value chains. The main assumption behind finance for climate adaptation along agro-value chains is relatively simple: improving value chain actors’ access to finance can help them build their assets and therefore reduce their vulnerability to climate and non-climate risks. However, access to climate-resilient and inclusive finance alone is not sufficient to support sustainable agro-value chain development in a changing climate. A combination of other factors is needed, calling for the support of the government and development partners.

To remain profitable and competitive, the banking sector needs to take a more proactive and holistic approach to climate risk management. Four actions are recommended. First, banks should explicitly integrate climate risk in their risk management strategies. Second, they should incentivize adaptation and climate-proof their financial instruments to support climate adaptation (or at a minimum to prevent maladaptation) along agro-value chains. Third, banks should explore any potential new opportunities from climate change by developing new products and services in collaboration with other actors (e.g., research organizations, telecommunication and software companies). Finally, a more proactive approach to supporting climate adaptation also calls for greater financial inclusion, including financial services that explicitly target women with a framework in place to monitor and evaluate progress and impacts.

An animated infographic for this paper can be found here.

Sustainable financing of NAMAs in many cases ultimately requires blending funds from public and private sources, so it is essential that NAMA developers try to maximally leverage private investment. But the question of how to do so in practice can be complex. This report offers guidance to developing country NAMA practitioners and NAMA funders seeking to leverage private investment in their NAMA projects.  Drawing on case studies, it identifies six key aspects crucial to developing bankable NAMAs and offers guidance on risk mitigation policies that can be instituted to increase NAMAs’ bankability. The paper also offers a set of specific recommendations for both practitioners and donors looking to maximize private investment in their NAMAs.

SDplanNet is a sustainable development planning network created to help government professionals at the national and subnational levels share best practices and build capacity in the preparation and implementation of sustainable development strategies and inclusive green economies.

It will act as a vehicle to assist in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper is a synopsis of discussions held at the SDplanNet-Africa regional workshop series that took place in Nairobi from March 3–5, 2014. Participating were 27 practitioners from 11 African countries and SDPlanNet colleagues from other regions, including government planning offices and environment departments at the national level, as well as regional organizations and networks with mandates for sustainable development and planning.

This paper analyzes the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Mysore, India.

The DBT is an initiative of the Indian central government to develop an electronic payment system for centrally funded social protection schemes. Under the DBT-for-LPG subsidies (DBTL), households would order an LPG cylinder from their LPG distributor, receive a payment equivalent to the current subsidy amount via electronic transfer to their bank account, then pay the full (unsubsidized) market price for the cylinder in cash on delivery. Mysore, a district in Karnataka state, was selected as one of 20 pilot districts for the introduction of DBTL. In early October 2013, the GSI conducted structured interviews with 120 beneficiaries in five taluks (administrative sub-divisions) of Mysore district to assess the DBTL in the areas of subsidy qualification and receipt, access to the LPG subsidy and impacts on household behaviour.

Over 40 per cent of households in India have no access to modern lighting fuels.

With electrification yet to reach every village, kerosene is a major source of lighting for these households. It is provided at subsidized rates through the government-sponsored Public Distribution System (PDS). Yet the sale of kerosene at subsidized rates leads to high costs for the government and oil companies. In December 2011, the Government of Rajasthan, with support from the Central Government, launched a pilot scheme in Kotkasim, Alwar to test a system of direct transfers to the bank accounts of ration cardholders as a means of distributing PDS kerosene subsidies. Under the scheme, every ration cardholder is allocated 3 litres of kerosene per month at the market rate (which equals the depot rate plus state-level taxes). The subsidy amount (as determined by the state authorities) is then transferred to the bank accounts of the ration cardholder on a quarterly or monthly basis. This study was undertaken to assess and evaluate the pilot project in Kotkasim with a focus on answering the following issues: how the pilot project performed against its stated policy objectives; how the pilot project impacted kerosene-consuming households, including their ability to access the subsidy and effects on household expenditure; and the policy implications for the reform of the kerosene subsidy system more generally.

This report has a sharable inforgraphic, click here to view.

Alberta is set to renew its 2007 Specified Gas Emitter Regulation (SGER), which will expire in September 2014. Recent indications are that Alberta is considering a “double-double” approach, which doubles the current regulatory standard of a 12 per cent intensity improvement and CAD$15 price ceiling. This report examines the implications of a renewed SGER with both a 24 per cent greenhouse gas intensity improvement that sets the greenhouse gas reductions required from the oil and gas sector and a $30 per tonne price ceiling that sets a maximum cost obligation to comply with the regulations.

A renewed SGER policy based on double-double parameters would deliver emission reductions inside and outside the oil and gas sector while providing research and development incentives through technology fund recycling. The costs of the double-double proposal are less than the price of a Timbit per barrel, or $0.13; however, emission reductions would be equal about 20 per cent of Canada’s remaining Copenhagen emissions gap in 2020.

This report investigates the extent of policy space for the practical uptake of sustainable public procurement (SPP) in South Africa.

It also assesses opportunities for the launch of pilot tenders that will yield greater environmental, social and economic value across the life cycle of the asset or service being procured. Most importantly, this report also demonstrates that the Government of South Africa can use sustainable public procurement to drive green industrial growth, implement Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, increase green innovation and deliver better value-for-money for the South African tax payer.

Institutional investors are increasingly committed to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their strategies for delivering risk-adjusted returns and delivering their ownership responsibilities.

Institutions with between USD$20 trillion and US$87 trillion in assets under management have made commitments to varying levels of integration, ranging from requests for improved corporate disclosure to incorporating ESG factors into valuations to changing asset allocation.

The shift to a low-carbon economy is likely to be disruptive for market valuations. Long-term carbon targets have not traditionally been included in market valuations, creating an overinvestment in fossil fuels. These could become stranded assets as policy, market, technology and social conditions change. HSBC and other financial institutions have started to analyze the valuation implications of the low-carbon transition, highlighting that 40 to 60 per cent of current European coal, oil and gas valuations are at risk from the low-carbon transition.

Reforms in investor practice and market frameworks are needed to prevent value destruction. Investors need to take action to anticipate these shifts, diverting capital from high-risk areas ahead of time. In addition, a series of policy and regulatory steps can be taken to enable financial markets to operate with greater foresight through long-term environmental challenges.

On February 20, 2014, IISD organized a workshop on “Options for the HLPF Review Mechanism”, co-sponsored by Switzerland, Norway, Egypt, Liechtenstein, Peru, Pakistan and the Republic of Korea.

It offered the opportunity for a free-ranging and informal airing both of views concerning the proposed HLPF review mechanism and of the hopes and concerns of Member States. The workshop served as a means of gauging the issues important to Members and that would have to be addressed if the review mechanism is to function optimally. The objective of this paper is to summarize the major themes that emerged from the workshop, and to provide five key questions that need to be answered, ahead of the second workshop on May 15, 2014 in New York City.