Overcoming economic, energy and food insecurity, is an increasingly complex challenge, particularly for those living in remote, low-lying small island states (SIDS) and fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS). Climate change and extreme geophysical and meteorological events—such as increased temperatures; reduced solar radiation; and increased frequency and intensity of rainfall and cyclones, storm surges, and tsunamis—pose additional threats to energy infrastructure sustainability. Climate change impacts will exacerbate existing development challenges such as deterioration of infrastructure, water shortages, rise in communicable diseases, population pressures on limited resources, and fuel and food supply disruptions. Ongoing conflicts present similar challenges and potential devastation. It is important that we explore tailored solutions and regional and cross-sectoral approaches beyond business-as-usual, in order to tackle the real and present danger head-on.
Session 3.1: Planning, Designing, and Building for Climate Resilience
This session will present plans, technologies, approaches and successful case studies for economic and climate resilience including emergency responses and solutions post-conflict and post-disaster. The session will also answer why building for climate resilience is cost-effective in the long term and will showcase successful combined adaptation-mitigation projects in SIDS.
Potential topics in this session could include:
- Developing country perspectives on planning and financing in FCAS and SIDS context
- Non-traditional donor financing experience, including emergency financing
- Case studies for distributed and off-grid clean energy technologies and applications to address climate change impacts
- Case studies in clean technology responses for post-tsunami, post-typhoon and post conflict recovery situations
- Case studies in implementing adaptation elements into mitigation projects
Session 3.2: Solar Plus: Alternatives and Enhancements to Solar for Power Generation
Clean alternatives and enhancements to solar in energy, water supply and transport including in aviation and maritime. This session will look at solar for power and other applications, other renewable energy sources available to FCAS and SIDS, innovations in storage, and ancillary services.
Potential topics in this session could include:
- Next-generation rooftop solar
- Solar + storage
- Hybrid energy systems
- Renewable E-mobility
- Solar energy for climate-proof water and food security
Session 3.3: Harnessing the oceans
Small island states are big ocean states. This session will discuss “blue economy” opportunities, with a focus on innovations and applications in floating solar technologies and other sustainable ocean energy development. Presentations may also cover cross-sectoral approaches such as floating solar plus aquaculture, greenhouses, and hydrogen and methanol production.
Potential topics in this session could include:
- Marine floating solar in bays, lagoons, atolls, and open water
- Offshore wind
- In-stream tidal energy conversion
- Integrated energy and regenerative marine aquaculture for energy and food security
- Power to gas and “power to X”
Session 3.4: Inclusive Financing and Regulation for Resilience
This session will explore options and innovations in financing for climate resilience and adaptation, including leveraging private sector investments. Presentations will highlight efforts to improve financial inclusion for energy access and resilience through financial intermediaries, microfinance institutions, and other modalities such as regional project financing to achieve economies of scale. The session will also include examples of gender-sensitive enabling regulatory frameworks to enable scale up of investments in clean energy and climate change adaptation technologies to improve recovery and productivity, create jobs, and enhance livelihoods for poor FCAS and SIDS families, and especially for women.
Potential topics in this session could include:
- Microfinance in the 21st century: crowdsourcing, mobile money, and other innovations
- Blended finance solutions
- Private sector investment at the bottom of the pyramid
- Weather-index insurance and other innovative instruments
- Financing for nature-based defenses