This project breaks disciplinary silos by bringing those who work in climate finance and policy together with development scholars and practitioners to share lessons, understanding, and research with an overall goal of making a contribution to the climate change field so that those at the community level benefit from the multitude of programmes designed for climate impacts. For some 70 years, International Development specialists have been developing programs and delivering funds to those who most need assistance. There is a wealth of knowledge to be uncovered by examining the international development industry for those who are now tasked with delivering climate finance. The academic, policy, and practitioner communities have spent decades researching, examining, and analyzing both development policies and finance independent of each. This volume will seek to bring that research together.

This book addresses the global need to transition to a low-carbon society and economy by 2050. The authors interrogate the dominant frames used for understanding this challenge and the predominant policy approaches for achieving it. Highlighting the techno-optimism that informs our current understanding and policy options, Kirby and O’Mahony draw on the lessons of international development to situate the transition within a political economy framework. Assisted by thinking on future scenarios, they critically examine the range of pathways being implemented by both developed and developing countries, identifying the prevailing forms of climate capitalism led by technology. Based on evidence that this is inadequate to achieve a low-carbon and sustainable society, the authors identify an alternative approach. This advance emerges from community initiatives, discussions on postcapitalism and debates about wellbeing and degrowth. The re-positioning of society and environment at the core of development can be labelled “ecosocialism” – a concept which must be tempered against the conditions created by Trumpism and Brexit.

This project breaks disciplinary silos by bringing those who work in climate finance and policy together with development scholars and practitioners to share lessons, understanding, and research with an overall goal of making a contribution to the climate change field so that those at the community level benefit from the multitude of programmes designed for climate impacts. For some 70 years, International Development specialists have been developing programs and delivering funds to those who most need assistance. There is a wealth of knowledge to be uncovered by examining the international development industry for those who are now tasked with delivering climate finance. The academic, policy, and practitioner communities have spent decades researching, examining, and analyzing both development policies and finance independent of each. This volume will seek to bring that research together. Corrine Cash is Assistant Professor in Geography and Environment at Mount Allison University, Canada. Larry Swatuk is Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo, Canada.

This issue of Finance & Development looks at the economic and financial impact of climate policy choices. It points to concrete solutions that offer growth opportunities, driven by technological innovation, sustainable investment, and a dynamic private sector. The private sector can stop supporting or subsidizing industries and activities that damage the planet and instead invest in sustainable development. Governments can roll out policies to fight climate change and the destruction of nature. The paper highlights that technological change and innovations are central to longer-term efforts to mitigate climate change by developing alternatives to fossil fuels. A new, sustainable financial system is under construction. It is funding the initiatives and innovations of the private sector and amplifying the effectiveness of governments’ climate policies—it could even accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The Bank of England’s latest survey finds that almost three-quarters of banks are starting to treat the risks from climate change like other financial risks—rather than viewing them simply as a corporate social responsibility. Banks have begun to consider the most immediate physical risks to their business models—from the exposure of mortgage books to flood risk to the impact of extreme weather events on sovereign risk.

In The Political Economy of Climate Finance Effectiveness in Developing Countries, Mark Purdon contributes to broader debates on the international climate cooperation by evaluating how three different climate finance instruments have been undertaken in three countries--Tanzania, Uganda, and Moldova--and evaluates their effectiveness in actually reducing emissions. He shows that the effectiveness of climate finance tools depends on the interaction between a nation's development policy paradigms and its interests in other sectors of their economies. Purdon's findings further inform the design of international and transnational efforts to engage developing countries on climate change mitigation by emphasizing the importance of domestic politics and the state.

Drawing on concepts in political economy, political ecology, justice theory, and critical development studies, the authors offer the first comprehensive, systematic exploration of the ways in which adaptation projects can produce unintended, undesirable results. This work is on the Global Policy: Next Generation list of six key books for understanding the politics of global climate change.

EPDF and EPUB available open access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. As many developing countries are facing increasingly higher levels of debt and economic instability, this interdisciplinary volume explores the intersection of sovereign debt and women's human rights. Through contributions from leading voices in academia, civil society, international organizations and national governments, it shows how debt-related economic policies are widening gender inequalities and argues for a systematic feminist approach to debt issues. Offering a new perspective on the global debt crisis, this is an invaluable resource for readers who seek to understand the complex relationship between economics and gender.