Aligning a financial system with sustainable development does not happen automatically. The increasing scale and sophistication of Africa’s financial system alone will not achieve it. Indeed, international evidence amply demonstrates that financial and capital markets can — and often do — become detached and fail to adequately serve the long-term needs of inclusive sustainable development.
This synthesis report by UNEP provides an overview of where Africa, as a region, stands in terms of transitioning to an inclusive green economy. It draws on studies to summarise the prospective gains and challenges associated with investing in a green economy and outlines a way forward to prioritise policy reforms, with a specific section on how to turn strategies and practices challenges into opportunities.
Long-lived infrastructure is inherently exposed to climate risks through its longevity, irreversibility and high initial capital cost. Major transport infrastructure is often designed for a lifetime measured in many decades and may be operational in a future climate that will be significantly different to the historical climate commonly used for planning and design. This policy brief focuses on port infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates the climate change risks, the use of climate services in decision-making and makes recommendations for actions to enhance the resilience of port infrastructure. It summarises a more comprehensive paper prepared to support the scoping phase of the Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) programme for the ports sector.
This policy brief focuses on large hydropower infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates the climate change risks and the use of climate services in decision-making and makes recommendations for actions to enhance the resilience of hydropower schemes. It summarises a more comprehensive paper prepared to support the scoping phase of the Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) programme for the hydropower sector.
This document reviews literature to provide a background for the CDKN research project "Gender equality and Climate Compatible Development- Drivers and challenges to people’s empowerment". The project addresses major knowledge gaps in relation to the gender dimension of climate change mitigation, adaptation, and development. Its aim is to strengthen the evidence base of gender-sensitive approaches to climate compatible development (CCD). The project will explore to what extent gender-sensitive approaches contribute to greater gender equality and more effective CCD. It will therefore help to create more nuanced gender analysis of CCD projects, provide compelling evidence of the benefits of gender-sensitive approaches to CCD and translate usable insights for policy and practice while supporting people’s empowerment.
This paper illustrates the foundations of green growth in Zambia and provides an overview of green development co-operation efforts in the country from 2004 to 2012. Furthermore, it discusses on-going efforts towards greening growth in Zambia. Aditionally, the study looks at total bilateral green Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows from members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries, i.e. targeting biodiversity, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, desertification, and other environmental objectives. This analysis draws on OECD DAC statistics, in particular the Creditor 10 Reporting System (CRS). It describes the sectors targeted, as well as the instruments used, and discusses the degree of alignment between Zambian priorities and providers’ activities. Another section of the paper then explores specific provider co-ordination efforts and strategies to support the mainstreaming of green issues incountry. The paper concludes with a number of questions that could guide further research on this topic in Zambia and beyond.