River basins host complex and interrelated natural and human communities which depend on the basins’ resources to survive and thrive. Planning and managing resources at the basin level are critical to understanding interactions and addressing impacts to mutually benefit people, ecosystems, and wildlife. While natural systems know no boundaries, these basins often span national boundaries…
Nik Steinberg is a climate risk and adaptation specialist with over a decade of experience in applied climate research. As part of the Climate Group at Chemonics, he delivers actionable, user-centric climate information while designing analytical approaches to help address decision-making challenges in the face of uncertainty. Prior to joining Chemonics, he served as the…
Max McGrath-Horn is a specialist in the design and financing of climate change solutions, mobilization of cross-sector partnerships, negotiation with government stakeholders, and crowding-in private finance. He is currently senior climate finance advisor in Chemonics’ Climate Group. Previously, Max worked at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, where he managed the Green Climate Fund…
From reversing deforestation to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, COP26’s commitments unlocked new pathways for the development community to spur climate action. However, the success of these financial and policy commitments depends on climate-vulnerable countries’ ability to attract and deploy climate finance effectively. Underdeveloped fund management systems and limited financial expertise are common roadblocks…
The private sector, recognizing the economic threat and global calls to climate action, has mobilized corporate pledges to avert climate disaster and bridge the nearly $4 trillion financing gap for climate financing by 2030. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), nearly 500 global financial services firms agreed to align $130 trillion – some…
Countries already suffering from conflict and instability are often also on the frontlines of climate change. In Mali, rainfall has decreased by about 30% in the last 40 years, a severe crisis in a country where 80% of people depend on rain-fed agriculture. In Yemen, climate change has increased the country’s vulnerability to droughts and floods, deepening acute…
Chemonics International announced today the launch of the development firm’s Climate Group to consolidate and deepen its climate change response efforts across its diverse portfolio and global business operations. Chemonics’ Climate Group is an answer to the escalating climate crisis, a defining issue of our lifetime and an urgent call for action, and will lead…
Chemonics has decades of deep climate adaptation, mitigation, and management experience. Our new Climate Group helps us consolidate all of our accumulated experience, coordinate the deployment of our in-house expertise, and more systematically address climate risks and opportunities in our current project portfolio and new business efforts. 1. What do you see as key challenges…
Driven by technological advances in soil management, improved seed quality, and modern farming practices, Brazil experienced an agricultural revolution over the past few decades that has transformed the country’s economy, society, and outlook. Brazil’s Cerrado biome, where the rich farmlands of the Matopiba region are located, illustrate, both the benefits and challenges of this transformation.…
Even before COVID-19 hit, financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was falling $2.5 trillion (USD) short. The OECD’s Global Outlook 2021 report suggests that the annual SDG financing gap in developing countries could have increased by a further $1.7 trillion, or nearly 70%, in 2020. The finance needed to meet the SDGs represents only…
Individuals with disabilities, particularly women and girls, have long been excluded from planning and responding to natural disasters, the impacts of climate change, and external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that natural disasters and pandemics exacerbate pre-existing inequities, disproportionately affecting women and girls and increasing their risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation…