Blog

Climatelinks had a big year in 2021! More than 284,000 people used the site, visiting from more than 220 countries around the globe. In December 2021, we outlined the top 5 photos, blogs, and resources of the year, as well as blogs and resources that you may have missed.

• 01/18/2022
• Sophie Schrader

Over the course of 2021, the Climatelinks community contributed over 140 blogs on topics from youth climate action to a new wave of private investment for climate solutions.

• 12/09/2021
• Sophie Schrader

Electrifying health facilities can be accomplished through one of two approaches: connecting to a utility grid or on-site generation. The combination of these two technologies is much cleaner than using diesel generators, the preferred mode of rural clinics for providing off-grid power, and over time is less expensive. Renewable energy solutions such as solar also reduce future greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

• 09/23/2021
• Jacob Brunell, Julia Fonteles, Will Putzier, Nicolette Salazar

Despite the government’s deliberate initiatives to reach more people, Tanzania lags behind in its grid electricity connection targets. Only 24.5% of rural households in Tanzania have access to electricity. To help realize a future where all people enjoy the benefits of modern energy, Pact develops solutions and implements projects to expand access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy and the means to use energy productively.

• 09/16/2021
• Marianna Balampama, Valentina Socias

On April 23, 2021, the White House called for a Global Climate Ambition Initiative to “support developing countries in... implementing their nationally determined contributions and... enhance and meet their climate goals in ways that further their national development priorities.”

• 06/28/2021
• Andrew Fang, Michael McNeil

The water-energy-food nexus represents a $5 trillion consumer market, millions of livelihoods, and the source of all food that people around the world eat.

• 06/03/2021
• Katie Bailey

As one of the most densely populated countries in the world, Bangladesh understands how critical a reliable energy supply is to the country's growth. However, Bangladesh is currently dependent on a waning natural gas supply and has reached a point where it must evaluate energy independent paths that are sustainable, cost-effective, and ensure long-term domestic energy supply. 

• 05/11/2021
• Isabel McCan, Carishma Gokhale-Welch

Improving energy efficiency is an integral but often-overlooked part of low-emission development (LED) strategies that can help countries reach their climate targets while meeting growing demands for energy.

• 05/05/2021
• Andrew Fang, Michael McNeil, Katie Koerper

Libya has vast energy resources. With electricity prices heavily subsidized by the national government and people experiencing daily power outages, public awareness of the need to conserve energy is limited.

• 04/20/2021
• Valerie Gwinner

When women are able to fully participate and lead in the workforce, we know that businesses prosper. Research shows that gender and ethnically diverse companies outperform industry standards by 25 percent.

• 03/08/2021
• Corinne Hart, Hayley Samu

My passion for entrepreneurship started when I was pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Clothing Textiles at Egerton University. I started a shop to sell soft furnishing for fabrics such as bed covers, curtains, baby sets etc. This business however did not go as smooth as I had earlier imagined.

• 01/14/2021
• Stella Sigana

During this next event in a series of joint Climatelinks-CEADIR webinars, the author of this assessment will present findings and opportunities. Representatives of global reinsurance companies SwissRe and MunichRe will also join to discuss their experiences with parametric insurance for utility-scale VRE in Latin America and beyond.

• 09/24/2020
• Santiago Enriquez

Smallholder rubber plantations represent a threat and an opportunity for carbon stock and biodiversity in Indonesia. A threat because poor agriculture and forestry practices lead to overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, water and river pollution and deforestation; and an opportunity because smallholder rubber plots hold a much higher biodiversity and carbon stock than their most common alternative: palm oil monoculture.

• 08/28/2020
• USAID Green Invest Asia 

Open, transparent, and competitive renewable energy procurement, coupled with declining prices for solar and wind technologies, has facilitated billions of dollars of investment at record low prices. According to the Renewables 2020 Global Status Report, 109 countries around the world had held renewable energy auctions by 2019, up from 98 in 2018. Worldwide, auctions have become an emerging best practice to procure least-cost energy.

• 08/04/2020
• Sarah Lawson, Araí Monteforte

Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) recently completed its first successful renewable energy auction, enabling the government to obtain variable renewable energy (VRE) at globally low-cost prices. The auction awarded contracts that are estimated to attract more than $1.3 billion of private sector investment and will enhance the country’s capacity to provide reliable electricity supplies to its communities.

• 06/23/2020
• Andrew Fang, Kristen Madler, Sarah Lawson