Economics blogs
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New solidarity funds could ringfence finance for loss and damage
8 November 2021On Adaptation, Loss and Damage Day at COP26, Clara Gallagher and Saleemul Huq consider how National Solidarity Funds for loss and damage could get new and additional finance to countries experiencing devastating and relentless loss and damage caused by climate change
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New guide for linking sovereign debt to climate and nature action
2 November 2021During this 'super year', the world is focusing on international summits aiming to tackle global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. But a third crisis is looming: debt. A new practical 'how-to' guide for innovative debt instruments helps support developing countries tackle the triple crisis of debt, climate and nature
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Lessons for building a natural capital legacy
17 August 2021Musing on the lessons learnt at the end of a project in Uganda about how to use natural capital accounts to inform policymaking, Rosalind Goodrich considers what it takes to build a legacy that will inform decision-making for years to come
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“We need a stronger taskforce”: pushing for better access to climate finance for vulnerable countries
2 June 2021The UK and Fiji governments are initiating a new Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance, and vulnerable countries have high hopes it will finally deliver improved climate finance access. Guest bloggers Carlos Fuller and Dhendrup Tshering discuss how to avoid failure and ensure the taskforce is set up for success
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Lessons from Paris: global biodiversity framework must engage business, grow finance
12 May 2021Decisions taken this year will set the course for nature, climate and development for a decade. We consider some key lessons from the UNFCCC climate change journey so far, and how they might help strengthen the global biodiversity framework being finalised in October
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We need to rethink investment treaties to ensure a rapid and just energy transition
22 April 2021As Joe Biden summons world leaders to step up global climate action and cut emissions, guest blogger Kyla Tienhaara explains why it’s time to reconsider investor-state dispute settlement; inaction risks rising costs of shifting from fossil fuels to green alternatives
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Here's why Indigenous economics is the key to saving nature
13 April 2021Mainstream Western economics is destroying the environment - and the Indigenous knowledge that has conserved nature for millennia
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Here’s how to propel a green recovery for the poorest
7 April 2021Special drawing rights could give indebted countries the flexibility to take climate action that benefits everyone, discuss IIED's Paul Steele and Shamshad Akhtar, former Minister of Finance for Pakistan
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Will green bonds boost finance flows to sustainable hydropower?
6 April 2021Jamie Skinner discusses the impacts of stringent new criteria on investments in sustainable hydropower projects
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UK aid cuts threaten climate leadership role of COP26 president
30 March 2021Cuts to the overseas aid budget risk not only undermining the UK’s reputation for progressive development action, but also the chances of the UK presidency delivering a successful outcome to COP26. Sustainable development must be climate resilient: a lower aid spend is in real terms a blow to climate finance and ambition
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When public finance shrinks, what are the priorities for climate action?
29 March 2021Cuts to UK overseas development aid raise critical questions for future climate action, not least whether the promised balance of support for adaptation and mitigation can be maintained. We suggest reforms to the climate finance system that could deliver stronger adaptation results for climate-vulnerable people
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The Dasgupta Review needed to engage today's finance ministers: here’s how
11 February 2021Paul Steele sets out ways to spur urgent and immediate investment in biodiversity conservation – complementing recommendations from Dasgupta’s landmark review
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Secure land rights are now more important than ever
29 January 2021In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many low-income countries are looking to their untapped natural resources as a way to deliver a swift economic boost. But there are concerns that the drive for urgent solutions could impinge on vital governance safeguards. Nathaniah Jacobs and Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye describe an important new initiative that aims to ensure good governance of land-based investments
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Making natural capital accounting an institution in Uganda
11 December 2020After joining a workshop to hear about some of Uganda’s recently completed natural capital accounts, Rosalind Goodrich reflects on what it takes to make this approach a fixture in government policy and process
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A green recovery from COVID-19? Not without climate, nature and development solutions
26 November 2020COVID-19 has made the world stop and think. What kind of future do we want? And what recovery measures will get us there? An IIED event at London Climate Action Week this month made the case for an inclusive and equitable green recovery that places climate, nature and development at its heart
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Choosing a sustainable way out of the pandemic’s economic chaos
12 October 2020With debt swaps governments and finance institutions can address the triple crises of debt, climate change and the destruction of nature
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Energy, finance and community business – show us the money
18 August 2020More ways are emerging to help businesses across sub-Saharan Africa get the energy finance they need to grow – but small businesses in rural communities are still missing out. What are their options?
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The global geography of world cities
9 July 2020Various lists and indicators are used to determine which cities are deemed ‘world cities’. David Satterthwaite examines different indicators and discusses which cities come out on top
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Internal and international influences on urban change
27 May 2020David Satterthwaite takes a closer look at drivers and influences of urban change
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Using technology to overcome challenges for farmers in value chains
27 May 2020Value chains are structured in ways that are unfavourable to smallholder farmers who often struggle to access finance, inputs and markets. An IIED webinar discussed how smallholders in East Africa can use technology to overcome those challenges and negotiate with buyers and input and finance providers from a position of strength
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Business with purpose in the era of COVID-19
18 May 2020The coronavirus pandemic has delivered a profound shock to the world economy. IIED's Laura Kelly argues that businesses must commit to more responsible and inclusive practices as part of their efforts to build recovery
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Will COVID-19 leave fuel-rich African countries gasping for breath?
27 April 2020As coronavirus takes its toll on Africa’s oil and gas-reliant economies, Dr Fatima Denton asks if recovery could herald an era of bold new thinking on economic diversification to reduce reliance on natural resources
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COVID-19 and global economic ordering: radical shift or more of the same?
24 April 2020The fallout from COVID-19 has triggered narratives about profound changes to economic ordering. A closer look provides a more complex picture, particularly for countries in the global South.
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Coronavirus and climate change are two crises that need humanity to unite
13 March 2020IIED director Andrew Norton looks at some of the emerging impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, and discusses the possible longer-term effects of the pandemic
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Making the market work for nature while helping to tackle poverty
3 March 2020Marking World Wildlife Day today (3 March), IIED is proposing a new system that would help protect biodiversity and also reduce poverty, bringing conservation and development together