Correcting the World's Greatest Market Failure: Climate Change and the Multilateral Development Banks

Outlines efforts by multilaterals to link economic development and environmental policies. Discusses the need for more progress in realizing low carbon development in the developing world, the political and financial challenges, and recommendations

Investing in Sustainable Energy Futures: Multilateral Development Banks' Investments in Energy Policy

Analyzes MDB loans for electricity projects and lays out policy reforms, regulations, and institutional capacities needed to enable public and private investment in sustainable energy and ways for MDBs to address them consistently and comprehensively

Power, Responsibility, and Accountability: Re-Thinking the Legitimacy of Institutions for Climate Finance

Offers lessons from current mechanisms to finance climate mitigation and adaptation and considerations for legitimacy in new ones: the capacity to determine outcomes, the exercise of power as intended, and standards and systems to ensure accountability

Energy governance and poverty

There is a growing literature examining global energy governance that recognises the importance of actors, institutions, and processes in addressing diverse challenges including security, climate change and environmental sustainability. But there has been a more limited focus on the issue from the perspective of the poor. This omission is significant in view of the sheer scale of energy service deprivation – billions of people still lack access to modern energy services with consequences for economic development, health, education, environment, and gender equality. We briefly examine how elements of the issue of energy poverty are governed across different scales (global, regional, and local), and how effectively these energy governance systems are addressing the needs of the poor. Focusing primarily on sub-Saharan Africa – due to the pervasive energy governance challenges in the region – we consider the role for both governments and the international community in strengthening related tools, regulatory environments and institutions