This working paper, published by the US-based Center for Global Development, outlines a market-oriented approach to funding the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies in developing countries. It describes how a green venture fund, with money coming from public and private investors, could help the development of green technologies suitable for use in low-income countries "in time to avoid catastrophic climate change". The authors discuss the commercialisation of these technologies; the structure and rationale of the funding strategy; and how the fund could operate, addressing key issues such as setting technology priorities, geographic focus, and the treatment of public and private investors.

This perspective article highlights some of the most proactive and innovative ideas related to water management and policy, including the concepts of 'virtual water' — water used to produce food that is traded — and the 'water footprint'. The authors discuss a range of issues, including water pricing, sustainability, water quality and alternative resources.

This report describes practices that small-scale farmers can use to adapt to climate change. The authors divide these practices into five categories: farm management and technology, farm financial management, diversification, government interventions in infrastructure, health and risk reduction. They conclude that farmers in developing countries are already using creative practices to manage climate challenges and that climate policies must strive to incorporate these.

International efforts to address climate change tend to focus on mitigation — the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Another response is adapting to the unavoidable impacts caused by past emissions. Yet adaptation plays a minor role in UN climate negotiations — this report argues that it must be considered on an equal footing with mitigation.

After an introduction to the history of adaptation, the report outlines key policy issues and summarises international adaptation efforts to date. It proposes three potentially complementary approaches to future international efforts on adaptation; using the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to enforce adaptation, integrating adaptation with development and providing climate 'insurance'.

It asks how adaptation can be given greater attention internationally. Its premise is that adaptation requires a concerted effort that benefits from international cooperation. But this is a contested notion.