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Cashing In on Sustainability: A Blended Finance Program Aims to Fight Climate Change by Catalyzing SME Investment in the Peruvian Amazon
Peru has lost an average of 100,000 hectares of rainforest per year since 2006, as illicit, extractive businesses are pushing the Amazon ecosystem closer to total collapse. But as Luis Garate at USAID CATALYZE Peru and Rocio Perez Torres at Palladium point out, without access to financing, the sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could take the place of illegal, extractive businesses are often left out of market growth. They discuss how CATALYZE is partnering with private sector financial service providers and investors to mobilize capital for sustainable SMEs in this vital region.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
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From One Crisis to Another: Using Data from COVID to Meet the Looming Challenge of Food Insecurity
Due to a tragic combination of events, countries around the world are facing a widespread and serious food shortage, with the number of severely hungry people projected to swell to 323 million over the course of 2022. Scott Graham, Andree Simon and Anahit Tevosyan at FINCA share data – initially gathered to inform FINCA's COVID-19 response – that shows the impact of this crisis on low-income customers. They explore how financial inclusion organizations can adapt their support to help customers stave off the worst effects of the escalating food crisis.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Environment, Finance
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Climate-Resilient Architecture: The Key to Combating Heat Stress in India
Global warming has increased the intensity of heat waves over the last few decades. And in India and other emerging countries, extreme heat is a particularly serious problem, as only 8% of the 2.8 billion people living in the world’s hottest regions have air conditioners. But according to Krati Airan and Rohang Mishal at Villgro Innovations Foundation, the problem won't be solved by simply expanding access to air conditioning, which is expensive and energy-intensive. They explore the impact of climate-resistant architecture in addressing heat stress in the world’s hottest – and most economically vulnerable – countries.
- Categories
- Environment
- Tags
- climate change, housing, recycling
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A Roadmap for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Island Nations: Three Success Factors for the Eastern Caribbean’s Transition from Fossil Fuels
The Eastern Caribbean has struggled in recent years, as natural disasters – combined with the COVID-19 pandemic – have caused a precipitous drop in the tourism revenues it depends on. But as Pepukaye Bardouille at the IFC explains, transitioning to renewable energy could help address this challenge, reducing the region’s cost of electricity, supporting its climate resilience, limiting its dependence on imported fossil fuels, and producing jobs outside the tourism sector. She presents three success factors for achieving this transition – insights that could also be applicable to other island nations.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
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Redefining ‘Business as Usual’: Three Ways to Overcome Barriers to ESG and Climate Finance
Climate change imposes significant costs on the economy, and addressing the crisis is key to businesses’ long-term success and viability. But as Roger-Mark De Souza at Pact explains, despite the growing urgency of the need, the business case for moving toward sustainability – and the fact that up to 80-90% of investors want to invest in socially and environmentally friendly ways – actual green investing hovers at just 10%. He explores the reasons for the gap between investor interest and action, and proposes three ways to address it.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing
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Strengthening the ‘Environment’ Component of ESG: How Financial Institutions Can Bring Green Financing into the Mainstream in India
Environment, social and governance (ESG) reporting is a critical enabler for many companies that hope to leverage business for social good. But according to Aryasilpa Adhikari and Priyank Sharma at the Inclusive Finance India Initiative and Srishty Anand at Fair Finance India, though Indian financial institutions have shown an increased focus on the social and governance components of the ESG framework, the environment component has generally been less of a priority. They explore several ways India can change this dynamic and bring green finance into the mainstream.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing
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A Gender-Smart Renewable Energy Transition: Why Climate Change Solutions Can’t Overlook Inequality
The Sustainable Development Goals recognize gender equality (SDG 5) and affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) as imminent priorities. Yet Rachel Murphy at Deetken Impact argues that women have been left out of the clean energy conversation – and that the world is running out of time to meaningfully change course. She explains why no single SDG can be achieved without the integration of both a gender and climate perspective, and explores how can the energy industry can move toward greater inclusion and empowerment of women.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment
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The Low-Hanging Fruit of Energy Access: Unlocking the Potential of Energy Efficiency Solutions for African Businesses
You’ve likely heard plenty of discussion of the approximately 600 million people who lack basic access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. But Adam Fitzwilliam at Camco Clean Energy points out that it's not just individuals who are energy poor: The region's business sector also needs access to reliable, renewable electricity. He explains why focusing on energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective ways to address energy demand in the commercial and industrial sector, and explores why these efforts haven’t taken off yet in most sub-Saharan African markets.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Finance