In this paper, the authors explore the many successful strategies and measures for climate resilience and low carbon development that communities and leaders have pursued at the subnational level. They draw on the rich and practical experiences of CDKN’s project partners and the broader ICLEI network.
They argue that the battle for climate compatible development will be won or lost in provinces, districts and cities. There are distinct challenges at subnational level– for example, future climate data for local and subnational levels is more uncertain than at larger scales, and subnational decision-makers face intense local pressure to act on the negative impacts of climate extremes and disasters. There are also unique opportunities. Subnational decision-makers often have a sound understanding of climate trends in their area, based on first-hand experience and local and indigenous knowledge. They have a good sense of solutions that are effective in the local context and they have the ability to mobilise local resources for implementation, including people’s time and knowledge.
Climate-related disasters have inflicted increasingly high losses on developing countries, and with climate change, these losses are likely to worsen. Improving country resilience against climate risks is therefore vital for achieving poverty reduction and economic development goals.
This report discusses the current state of knowledge on how to build climate resilience in developing countries. It argues that climate-resilient development requires moving beyond the climate-proofing of existing development pathways, to consider economic development objectives and resilience priorities in parallel. Achieving this will require political vision and a clear understanding of the relation between climate and development, as well as an adapted institutional set-up, financing arrangements, and progress monitoring and evaluation. The report also discusses two priorities for climate-resilient development: disaster risk management and the involvement of the private sector.
This report focuses on the wind and solar PV sectors in India. It reviews the Indian policy framework for increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix within the context of multiple social, economic and technological objectives. Based on this analysis, it concludes that while support to the industry has come at a relatively low cost, development has been slow and many policies have been found wanting when evaluated against the originally proposed goals.
The report suggests that ‘green ’rather than ‘industrial’ elements have been best supported by policy to date. Impacts are most clearly seen in energy security and access, avoided health costs and the abatement of greenhouse gas emissions, while the industrial policy element has fared poorly in comparison. Marrying the two elements more completely will allow the benefits of a renewable energy manufacturing sector and environmental protection to be successfully realized.
Kenya has one of the most dynamic economies in Africa, yet it is facing a number of pressing economic, environmental and social challenges. In recent years, Kenya has adopted several green economy-related approaches and policies, which include implementing renewable energy feed-in tariffs in 2008, embedding sustainable natural resource utilization into its 2010 Constitution and mainstreaming green economy in its Second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017).
In this context, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, in partnership with UNEP, commissioned a study to assess the economic benefits and challenges of investing in priority economic sectors in support of Kenya’s transition to a green economy. The study examines investments under “business-as-usual” (BAU) compared to green economy scenarios in four key sectors that are critical for the country’s green growth, namely: agriculture, energy, manufacturing and transport.
This publication informs policy makers and practitioners involved in developing and monitoring green growth strategies. It proposes a framework for green growth indicators that seeks to respond to the context of developing countries and their expressed policy needs. The proposed framework for green growth indicators is based on a wider concept of quality of growth, and puts attention on five main dimensions of economic development - equity and inclusiveness; efficiency and productivity; structural transformation; investment in natural capital; and planetary boundaries. ESCAP’s framework aligns with previous work on green economy and green growth indicators with particular attention to inequality and access to basic resources. It recognizes the need to assess and mitigate risks – to set targets to ensure that economic activity and its resource use consequences stay within planetary limits. The importance of governance for each element of the framework is also emphasized.