Inclusive low-carbon transitions for sustainable development in the global south

Compared to countries in the Global North, countries in the Global South are more vulnerable to climate change, but have less capacity to adapt (AfDB, 2022). As in the North, a low-carbon transition (LCT) needs to be implemented in the South, as reflected in most countries’ ratification of the Paris Agreement and in their Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs). A LCT must include both mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions) and adaptation (making changes to adapt to a warming climate). This is an inherently knowledge-intensive process, but there are substantial gaps in the knowledge needed to achieve this transition in the South and in the capacity to generate tailored solutions. This is why the Sustainable Inclusive Economies (SIE) Division of the International Development Research Centre has identified research in this area as particularly important. This report is commissioned by SIE to develop an actionable research agenda that can inform and support a LCT in the Global South.