Tackling Gender Inequality in Pakistan
Following a trip to Pakistan, Dr Ajaz Ahmed Khan tells us about a very interesting project implemented by our MFI partner AKHUWAT. Transgender people, or khwaja siras as they are often referred to in Pakistan, routinely face a high level of discrimination in access to health, housing, education and employment as well as ridicule, intimidation […]
Mining for Social Value in Botswana
Societies across the world are increasingly demanding more value from their natural resources. Philippe Mellier, chief executive officer of the De Beers group of companies, says they are right to do so. The discovery of diamonds in Botswana at Orapa by De Beers geologists in 1967, shortly after the country gained independence, has led to […]
Pay As You Go Solar Distribution
Today, more than 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are living without access to electricity, most of them in rural areas. This is due largely to the high cost of expanding grid infrastructure to poor and remote locations. Access to sustainable off-grid energy in Africa has drawn an enormous amount of attention from donors, activists […]
How Science Can Inform Business Climate Commitments
Big business can make a big difference to tackle climate change in agriculture, but needs a strong scientific base to guide and monitor investments, says Sonja Vermeulen When the world’s biggest agribusinesses, with collective revenues of over $800 billion, come together to announce their intentions to reduce food emissions by almost a third in the […]
How Do We Get Businesses Working Towards the SDGs
“Let us put aside what divides us and overcome narrow self-interest in favor of working together for the common well-being of humanity.” With those inspiring words, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon kicked off last week’s Addis Ababa conference on Financing for Development. It was the first of a series of major events that could make […]
3 Ways to Make Your Supply Chain More Climate Resilient
Your business sells products that depend on agricultural commodities. You have built a great brand, you have a loyal and expanding customer base and great relationships with your providers. But is your supply chain really sustainable? Can climate change affect your business? Most of the debate and focus in Europe and the US has been […]
Climate Action Opportunities: An Industry Lens
By Serena Brown, KPMG International As the great and the good met in Paris to reach an historic international climate change agreement, we saw a flurry of announcements from businesses. These included collective calls to action, individual and collective commitments, and a multitude of new multi-stakeholder collaborations to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and […]
Global Goals Could Trigger a Burst of Innovation
Leaders from 193 nations are converging on New York for the U.N. General Assembly. They are expected to adopt the sustainable development goals, which are not short on ambition. Beginning with a goal to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere,” they cover gender equality, food security, peace, health, clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities, […]
Responsible Taxation is Key to Financing SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been estimated to require an additional $2.5 trillion a year of financing in developing countries. Matti Kohonen, PhD, describes how responsible tax behaviour by businesses, supported by investors, forms a critical part of ensuring that taxes are fairly paid and accountably used to fight poverty. The UN’s Sustainable Development […]
Enabling SME Adaptation to Climate Change
Ismail Faisov tends a farm in the mountainous Dashtijum Jamoat region in Tajikistan. Dashtijum Jamoat is rich with indigenous fruits and legumes that have become naturally resilient to drought, cold weather, diseases, and other environmental stresses. For a number of reasons though, Ismail did not cultivate these traditional species, choosing instead to sell imported cultivars […]
Why I’m Optimistic About Climate Change
Only a few days into the UN climate summit, and it is already time to sing the Paris blues. The path to Paris was, unfortunately, paved with pessimism and imperfect accords: Rio, Kyoto, Copenhagen. In the meantime, carbon dioxide in the air has increased, raising the world’s average temperature by one degree Celsius relative to […]
The Boon and Bane of Index-Based Weather Insurance
After the enthusiasm on microcredit has somewhat faded over the past few years, the next microfinance revolution in the form of index-based microinsurance is well underway. In this blogpost we will take a closer look at the index-based approach to insurance and highlight some of its advantages as well as some of its challenges. Insuring […]
Innovative Insurance Models for Risk Reducing Behaviour
Source: CCAFS and CGIAR Losses and damages of weather-related disasters are increasing In the face of climate change, BoP communities in many developing countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the risks posed by extreme weather and climatic events. Climate change-related impacts affect agricultural productivity, weaken water and food security, increase the incidences of diseases, and […]
Making Smallholder Farmers Climate Proof
Training of smallholder farmers by BASF in India (Credit: BASF) An estimated 1.5 billion people directly depend on agriculture for their income with smallholder farmers responsible for almost 80% of all food consumed in the developing world. Agriculture is the biggest industry sector in the world – and one that is highly sensitive to changing […]
Responsibility Does Not Stop at Company Gates
adelphi has been working with private sector actors on climate change adaptation around the world for more than 5 years now. In our projects, which we conduct for various partners, we often observe advances in the field of adaptation that are surprising to development practitioners. For example, for the Private Sector Adaptation to Climate Change […]
Market of Climate Resilience: Protection & Conservation
Members of the Wansari Fishermen’s Association in Indonesia use enviornmentally friendly bamboo pens for crab cultivation in the mangroves (Credit: Kampoeng Kepiting) The tourism sector grows fast, especially in developing countries Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. In 2012 alone, 1 billion tourists travelled across borders compared to 25 million in 1950. […]
Market of Climate Resilience: Protection & Conservation
Members of the Wansari Fishermen’s Association in Indonesia use enviornmentally friendly bamboo pens for crab cultivation in the mangroves (Credit: Kampoeng Kepiting) The tourism sector grows fast, especially in developing countries Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. In 2012 alone, 1 billion tourists travelled across borders compared to 25 million in 1950. […]
Increasing Climate Resilience of BoP Communities
Since Monday, November 30th, 2015, representatives from over 190 countries gather at the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP 21) with the imposing goal of developing a legally binding and universal agreement on climate to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. While the agreement to limiting the global temperature increase to less than 2°C […]
The Cross Section of Climate and Food Security
As the U.N. climate talks are underway in Paris, the global spotlight is on how business can offer solutions for addressing climate change. With this in mind, the fertilizer industry is strongly committed to continue reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizer related GHG emissions can be substantially mitigated as a result of enhancing crop intensity […]
Cashless Africa: The Barriers to Mobile Inclusion
Interoperability and innovation in mobile wallets are likely to drive the next wave of financial inclusion in Africa. Africa runs on cash. An estimated eight out of 10 transactions on the continent takes place in paper currency; only 34 per cent of adults have a bank account, and only 16 per cent have any formal […]