Few studies examine how technical assistance helps mobilize additional public and private climate finance to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. This paper aims to provide some first insights on the topic by analyzing five technical assistance programs of the German ‘Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), one of the largest technical assistance agencies worldwide.
This paper addresses several broad issues for governments aiming to encourage private sector investment in low-carbon climate resilient (LCR) infrastructure, in both developed and developing world contexts. LCR infrastructure is defined, recognizing the interdependencies between infrastructure systems, and the opportunities to tackle climate change adaptation and mitigation simultaneously in national strategic infrastructure plans. Review of the performance of OECD countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to three categories of gross fixed capital formation is mixed. Half of the countries analysed achieved decoupling of emissions from capital formation in the residential building sector, but only two in the transportation sector and nine in power and industry. The paper reviews future global infrastructure needs under low carbon and business-as–usual scenarios. Although cost estimates are incomplete, the technical interdependency and financial tradeoffs between infrastructure systems suggests the potential to generate virtuous cycles of low carbon growth.
A growing number of government, business and civil society, including Unilever and IDH, have a goal of transforming the Indonesian rural economy by 2020, to deliver net positive environmental impacts and improve smallholder farmer livelihoods. This requires a focus on transforming the oil palm sector from being a driver of deforestation, to one that is highly productive and sustainable.
The Government of India has set ambitious renewable energy targets for 2022, in order to achieve its climate goals and enhance energy security. Given India’s budget constraints, a cost-effective policy path will be crucial to achieving these targets. One way to reduce the cost of government support needed to achieve its renewable energy targets is through the tariffs it uses to procure renewable energy.
The Governments of Indonesia and Central Kalimantan have ambitious targets to both grow the palm oil sector and improve environmental quality by reducing deforestation, and smallholder farmers are an important part of the picture. We find that, as the plantation area managed by smallholder farmers grows, there are opportunities to improve productivity and farmer benefits within all models of smallholder organization that we examined, particularly for individual partnership and independent farmers.