In 2015, global investment in renewables grew about 5 percent relative to the previous year and reached an all-time high of US$ 286 billion (bn). And there are more interesting trends: Investment in renewables’ based electricity generation capacity in 2015 has been more than double the investment in the major fossil fuels (renewables: US$ 266 bn versus US$ 130 bn for coal and gas stations). This also leads to added capacity in terms of Gigawatts in 2015 in renewables (134 GW) outstripping all other technologies combined (conventional coal, gas, and nuclear).

Generating electric power based on geothermal energy is attractive (i) because of the low CO2 emissions and (ii) because electricity can be produced constantly, independent of the availability of wind or sunlight. These characteristics make geothermal energy an important option for safe, cost-effective and climate friendly power production. The main caveats are that geothermal energy is not available everywhere and that it is uncertain whether the resource will actually be found at a given site.

The Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor ranks G20 member states on their attractiveness as potential destinations for investment in low-carbon electricity infrastructure. It takes into account their current and future investment needs in line with a 2° C global warming trajectory. Consistency with the Paris Agreement, negotiated by 195 countries at the end of 2015, would require a full decarbonization of the global economy before the end of the century. This transformation will be particularly challenging for the energy sector – the largest source of carbon emissions.

This report studies the development of criteria for assessing the compatibility of financial investments with the international goal to limit global temperature increase to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The findings are intended as a starting point and a key input for a longer term process to develop consensus-based 2°C investing criteria. The focus here is placed on investments in projects and physical assets, in particular of development and climate finance organisations.

The toolkit provides indispensable guidance covering:

Things to know before applying: The toolkit provides an overview of the amount and type of funding available along with the role of the key actors involved, such as National Designated Authorities, Accredited Entities and Executing Entities.

Proposal design elements: The toolkit presents how to prepare a logic framework, develop a Gender Assessment and Action Plan and justify the rationale for GCF involvement (the “exit strategy”)

Smallholder farmers and lenders with smallholder lending portfolios ( which according to CGAP currently account for about USD 50 billion globally) are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. mfarmPay, a novel parametric lending solution driving financing to African farmers, offers innovative data-driven solution to reducing climate risk in lending portfolios and incentivising the adoption of climate-smart farming approaches by smallholder food producers.

This paper introduces the Renewable Power Fraction and Renewable Energy Fraction as self-defining metrics to quantify and visualise the performance of renewable generators versus the total load, and show how corresponding Fossil or Demand Side Management Power and Energy Fractions can similarly be defined.

Lack of access to electricity is seen as a major constraint to economic growth and increased welfare in developing countries. In this report, the authors conducted a review of the evidence that investments in electricity-generating capacity have benefits for poor people, and what factors influence that relationship. The review analyzes a large and diverse range of literature dealing with the poverty impacts of increased generation capacity.