Topic: International Markets

Sharan Burrow at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk

Unions Partner with Entrepreneurs for a Just Energy Transition

Jordan Cozby
“There are no jobs on a dead planet,” said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Burrow is vice-chair of The B Team, a coalition of business and civil society leaders that was founded by Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. In an attempt to address the dual dangers of economic injustice and environmental disaster that Burrow’s remark references, The B Team launched the Pledge for a Just Transition to Decent Jobs in August 2018.
Garden of the Master of Nets in Suzhou, China

China Could Create Sustainable International Infrastructure

Moises Escobar
In 2013, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced the beginning of an initiative that he would later dub the “project of the century.” The Belt and Road Initiative is a massive infrastructure-integration project undertaken by the Chinese government to improve the connectivity between Asia, Europe and Africa. It effectively covers more than half of the world’s population and a third of the world’s GDP.
Engine in a museum exhibit

Fueling the Cleantech Startup Engine

Kat Friedrich
What insights about the cleantech startup ecosystem can accelerate the clean energy economy? Speakers on a panel at Horizon18 in Boston on Oct. 11, “Game Changers in the Clean Economy Marketplace: Innovative Solutions for the Future,” said that while some dynamic trends are taking place in the market, they recognize the obstacles that slow down new startups and technologies.
Vianaar Homes, an eco-friendly development project in Goa

Seeking Energy Efficiency’s Hidden Savings

Kat Friedrich
Some marketers view energy efficiency as invisible to United States consumers. Within the industry itself, benefits that are not measured in kWh are often invisible, said Noel Stevens, senior consultant at DNV GL. During a webinar hosted by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships on Sept. 19, “Quantifying the Value Proposition: Recent Work on Non-Energy Impacts,” he and other speakers showed the selling points of retooling savings estimates.
Louise Lexis Relus, Haitian farming community organizer

Louise Lexis Relus, Haitian farming community organizer, was photographed by Inter-American Foundation

Toward Gender Equity in the Era of Climate Change

Rohini Mukherjee
The recent United Nations (UN) report “Gender and Climate Finance” has said that climate finance can catalyze the transition to zero-carbon and climate-resilient development while addressing gender issues such as equality and empowerment.

Can Results-Based Climate Finance Prevent Adversity?

Rohini Mukherjee
It’s urgent to fund climate solutions in developing nations. The risk of climate-related adversities particularly affects the poor, who already suffer disproportionately from these impacts. Direct government funding is scarce in the least-developed countries. Hence, climate change investment needs are significant. One way to address this gap and also reduce investment risks is to use results-based climate finance.
International flags

A Key to Unlock Climate Finance

Maria Urrutia
Developing countries are in need of significant financial investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience. In most developing countries, government investments for climate change are limited. Therefore, in order to fulfill their commitments to the Paris Agreement, governments need to rely on other external sources of funding. Identifying and accessing these funds, however, still remains a big challenge.
Jameela Pedicini

Financial Leaders Follow the Hockey Puck of Clean Energy

Kat Friedrich
In a dynamic discussion at the Rockefeller Institute of Government on April 18 in Albany, N.Y., financial experts explained how they “follow the puck” by observing technological and social trends as they move their funds from fossil fuels toward clean energy.