In convening the first ever Africa Climate Summit on September 4-6, Kenya’s President William Ruto sought to frame an African position in preparation for the upcoming U.N. Climate Summit, COP28, to be held in Dubai starting November 30. The resulting Nairobi Declaration endorses a series of proposals to reform the way multilateral development banks operate…
The transition to energy systems powered principally by renewable sources requires a fundamental shift in the production, distribution, and consumption of energy, while protecting the welfare of workers and communities whose livelihoods have depended on conventional energy systems (the just transition). This must be achieved in the context of a changing climate, the impacts of…
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report (AR6), issued in March 2023 features a stark message: the decisions that we make right now will have profound implications for the future. In the energy sector, such decisions must focus on incentives for reducing fossil fuels and development agencies, such as USAID, are…
Matt Arnold has 13 years of experience working in energy and climate change, including at energy independent power producers and development organizations. Matt has served core roles on USAID and UNDP-funded projects and has led program development in Latin America and the Caribbean, East Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia, and has expertise working on renewable…
As we mobilise capital flows to deliver a net zero future, a just transition means ensuring the benefits are shared widely and embedded successfully, with no one left behind. Financial institutions and governments have been ramping up their commitments to a just transition, but many need to better understand the rationale, implications, and applications of…
Meet Chemonics’ Achini Wijesinghe, gender advisor for the USAID Sri Lanka Energy Program! In this video, Achini discusses her path to international development, the organizations that inspired her and shaped her career and identity, advice for those interested in a career in development, her experience swimming with nurse sharks in the Maldives, and more. Achini…
The world is facing mission-critical gaps in climate finance and development finance. Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that investment in climate mitigation and adaptation is three to six times lower than it needs to be to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the UN…
Last week, the blackout that shut down much of Bangladesh for seven hours starting at 2 pm local time on October 4th – followed by days of more frequent load-shedding than before the outage – underscores the inadequacy of the country’s energy sector to power its dynamic economy and growing population. Despite years of expansion…
During the webinar on Electromobility: The Future of Transportation That’s Already Present in Mexico, panelists discussed opportunities in the area of zero-emissions transportation and the feasibility of electrifying transport in Mexico, particularly bus transportation systems as well as taxis and delivery vehicles. During the webinar on Net Zero Buildings: The Future of Construction That’s Already…