Blockchain Papers

Vinita Rodrigues, Vivek Mustafa Gilani, Saranya Acharya, Maya Seshagiri

Extended abstract 3-240-26 Urban Poor Women in India, living in heat-trapping buildings in conditions of cooling-energy poverty (i.e. inadequate energy access for operating active cooling appliances and no access to passive cooling solutions) are inequitably impacted by climate-crisis induced extreme heat which causes health issues stemming from homes being too hot to sleep in before midnight and social reproduction roles which require them to wake up hours before other family members. Paradoxically, women are under-represented in the ‘green economy’ response to extreme heat (eg. cool roof programmes). The paper presents insights from, and the way forward from the field-test phase of a Women's Heat Action Cooperative (WEHAC) programme underway in an informal settlement in Chennai, India to enhance access to passive cooling solutions co-created with the community. The WEHAC offers cooling products and services to residents who pay an affordable estimated monthly-installments (EMI) to the WEHAC to maintain a revolving fund that serves as future investment capital. The paper presents learnings related to structure of financial/social incentives for initial mobilization of women’s entrepreneurial interests, outcomes of testing solutions to underwrite risk of residents not paying EMIs, and elucidates the process of establishing an ecosystem of trades, material supply chains to foster a locally-owned decentralized response to cooling energy poverty. It also presents results of an ongoing effort to establish a One-Stop-Shop ( technical and finance assistance facility) for WEHACs where finance and in-kind assistance is derived from a multitude of sources (e.g. microfinance institutions, impact investment) and through repurposing municipal development schemes. The paper presents results from the applied policy research work of policy ‘hacking’ (i.e reinterpreting, repurposing) of existing policies (eg. heat action plans, women’s empowerment programs) and unlocking financing from under-subscribed schemes. Download presentation.

Onsel Gurel Bayrali, Yasemin İrepoğlu Carreras

Abstract Environmental transition is increasingly governed through multilevel systems in which authority is shared across supranational, national, and regional governments. Existing research on multilevel climate governance has focused on coordination, implementation, and compliance, largely treating environmental objectives as politically consistent among territorial levels once adopted. This paper argues that multilevel governance also reshapes the political content of environmental transition itself, a process we call political reinterpretation: common climate objectives are selectively reprioritized and reframed as they enter territorially distinct political arenas. We test this argument using text analysis of parliamentary discourse, applying structural topic modeling to 10,564 speeches delivered across Spain’s seventeen Autonomous Communities (ACs) between 2019 and 2024 to uncover five substantive dimensions of environmental-transition discourse directly from legislative text. We find that these dimensions are distributed unevenly across regions, and, more critically, that Spain’s major statewide parties do not reproduce their national environmental-transition profiles across territories: territorial variation in the topics they prioritize within each party systematically exceeds the variation observed between parties operating in the same region. This pattern holds even among parties whose organizational structure gives them a strong incentive toward national uniformity, indicating that territorial incentives can outweigh the integrative pressures of statewide party organization. Understanding climate governance in decentralized systems therefore requires attention not only to how environmental policy is implemented across levels of government, but to how its political meaning is reconstructed as authority becomes territorially dispersed.

Arno Adriaan Gerbrand Bakkeren

Crises confront decision makers with persistent, interdependent demands that intensify under conditions of urgency, uncertainty, distributed authority, and public scrutiny. They must act rapidly while exercising judgment, coordinate centrally while preserving local discretion, and stabilize operations while remaining attentive to consequences that may emerge later and elsewhere. Drawing on paradox theory, crisis governance, and research on decision making in extreme contexts, this dissertation examines how such tensions become governable in practice. Its overarching research question is: How do decision makers navigate paradoxical tensions in crisis response? The dissertation develops a cross-level account spanning the response system, the central–local interface, and concrete decision episodes. The first study examines crisis response at the system level through a systematic review of 211 empirical studies published between 1993 and 2025 in management and public administration journals. It develops the Extreme Context Response System (ECRS) model, which links response mechanisms to operational and environmental outcomes and to feedback channels characterized by different temporal latencies. The review identifies recurring patterns in how consequences unfold over time. Operational outcomes tend to stabilize before environmental outcomes become visible; feedback travels through partially distinct channels; and time pressure concentrates attention on immediate operational priorities. Where environmental feedback is weak, delayed, or politically muted, operational primacy can displace risks and contribute to later environmental extremes. The second study examines hybrid crisis governance at the central–local interface during the Dutch public-health response to COVID-19. It focuses on the relationship between a central coordinating body and 25 regionally autonomous Municipal Health Services. The analysis identifies three coupled coordination mechanisms: a decision ledger, an exception interface, and a synchronized cadence. These mechanisms preserve decisions and their rationales, provide a bounded route for surfacing locally unworkable directions, and establish recurring moments for coordination, adjustment, and reconsideration. Together, they sustain accountability, predictable timing, and shared understanding while keeping central direction and local discretion jointly workable across levels. The third study examines concrete decision episodes in which leaders experienced paradoxical demands as undecidable. Drawing on interviews with all 25 regional public-health leaders, internal organizational documents, and field-based involvement, the study shows how leaders relied on ethical consideration when protocols, categories, and formal authority did not fully settle what should be done. Four recurring domains emerged: allocative prioritization, rule interpretation, temporal sequencing, and cross-audience alignment. Across these domains, leaders weighed duties, procedures, anticipated consequences, and audience expectations in order to render action defensible under uncertainty and scrutiny. These studies interconnect and conceptualize crisis governance as a cross-level process in which consequences, coordination, and ethical accountability remain connected over time. The integrated argument is that paradoxical tensions remain navigable when later consequences remain visible, cross-level tensions remain revisable, and difficult action remains defensible while response is still unfolding. The dissertation contributes to research on extreme contexts, crisis governance, and organizational paradox by connecting temporal, organizational, and ethical dimensions of crisis response. It further identifies practical design principles for response systems that preserve visibility of delayed consequences, support adaptation across interfaces, and sustain accountable decision making under pressure.

Raj Kumar Goel, Shweta Vishnoi

Rapid urbanization is increasing pressure on infrastructure, natural resources, social well-being, and institutional capacity, while climate change, demographic shifts, migration, technological disruption, and geopolitical instability are further complicating paths to sustainable urban development. This study develops a conceptual, SDG-aligned framework to examine the interactions between six major global megatrends and their associated sub-trends, with a particular emphasis on their cascading effects, interdependencies, and impact on urban resilience. Drawing on existing scholarly and policy literature, this study synthesizes case-based evidence from diverse urban contexts to demonstrate how global trends translate into locally distinct sustainability challenges. Within this framework, the study proposes an Extended Composite Sustainability Index (ECSI) that conceptually integrates six interconnected dimensions namely urbanization, demographic shift, climate change, technological transformation, spatial change, and geopolitical instability to provide a multidimensional framework for assessing sustainable urban development. This framework conceptualizes resilience and SDG progress as outcomes of interactions between these dimensions, rather than as independent variables. The proposed ECSI and its associated formulations are presented as conceptual constructs. The analysis shows that technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, can contribute to resource efficiency, safety, and inclusive urban development, but without proper governance and institutional safeguards, they can also reinforce privileged and digital inequalities. Overall, this study highlights the need for an integrated assessment approach that simultaneously evaluates sustainability dimensions, while also providing a conceptual basis for future empirical calibration, sensitivity testing, and validation using real-world urban datasets.

Risnawati Risnawat

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the primary financial mechanism under the Paris Agreement, yet its governance architecture remains underexplored theoretically. This study examines how multiple decision centers and actors interact within the GCF’s governance structure and what coordination mechanisms are built into it, using a polycentric governance lens. By analyzing 43 official GCF documents (2015–2024) through qualitative content analysis and the polycentric orders framework, the study finds that the GCF’s governance structure exhibits formally institutionalized coordination mechanisms consistent with a strong polycentric order. These structural features are designed to support problem-solving and adaptive management, although their operational effectiveness requires further empirical investigation. Contributions include a replicable, document-based coding and network-analysis method for characterizing polycentric governance, along with evidence that formal decentralization in the GCF coexists with a concentration of documented coordination ties among a small core of actors.

John Alexander Taborda, Cesar Enrique Polo Castro, Miguel Martínez

Just energy transitions in the Global South unfold under conditions of institutional fragmentation, fiscal constraints, and high socio-ecological turbulence, making governance capacity a critical bottleneck for effective decarbonization and climate justice. This study proposes the Cybernetic Environmental Hub (CEH) framework, which extends the Viable System Model (VSM) to sustainability governance by integrating AIoT-enabled environmental monitoring, Early Warning Systems, decentralized data governance, and justice-centered institutional design. Methodologically, the article is primarily a conceptual framework paper accompanied by an illustrative single-site qualitative case study designed to probe the plausibility and diagnostic utility of the proposed architecture rather than to generate statistical generalization. The research combines theoretical development with participatory territorial diagnostics in the Caribbean Mining Corridor, where socio-ecological challenges were collected through participatory innovation workshops, thematically coded, and mapped onto the five VSM subsystems to identify systemic “variety gaps.” The analysis indicates that fragmented operational initiatives coexist with weak meta-systemic coordination, limiting adaptive capacity in energy transition processes. The CEH architecture is proposed to address these deficiencies by embedding AIoT sensing, federated learning, blockchain-based coordination, and Early Warning Systems within recursive governance structures and is grounded in a real cyber-physical deployment of around 90 monitoring stations across Albania, La Jagua de Ibirico and Algarrobo. The study also introduces a Territorial Governance Maturity Model (H1–H3) to diagnose systemic learning capacities and transition readiness across technological, institutional, data governance, and justice dimensions. The findings suggest that cybernetic environmental hubs may function as socio-technical infrastructures supporting coordinated, adaptive, and justice-centered energy transitions in the Global South, while comparative empirical evidence remains an agenda for future work.

Gabriela Mariutac, Claudiu Brândaș, Otniel Didraga, Mihai Plesa

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) has faced sustained legitimacy stress since 2023, when peer-reviewed work found that fewer than one in six issued credits represented a real emission reduction. In parallel, tokenisation through Web3 protocols, decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), and regenerative finance (ReFi) infrastructures introduced new participants interacting with incumbent registries without a shared coordination framework. Existing scholarship examines commons governance, complex system governance (CSG), and tokenised carbon markets largely in isolation; the gap addressed here is the absence of an integrated system-of-systems (SoS) governance treatment of the tokenised VCM. This study develops and empirically applies a polycentric SoS governance framework for the tokenised VCM, structured around four research questions and five foundational contributions. We treat the tokenised VCM as an SoS that is polycentric in configuration but not by design, and develop a system-of-systems engineering (SoSE) governance reading of it. We reformulate Ostrom’s eight design principles as SoS governance criteria for digital–physical hybrid commons, map each to CSG metasystem functions, and apply the framework to four cases: KlimaDAO, Toucan Protocol, Regen Network, and the post-2023 Verra reforms. Qualitative coding is complemented by on-chain and Base Carbon Tonne spot-price evidence from October 2021 to December 2025. Disclosure by an analytical intermediary acted on the SoS roughly seven weeks before formal regulatory action and was associated with about 90% of the observed bridging slowdown, interpreted descriptively rather than causally. We derive an eight-item reform agenda, six DAO–registry interface specifications, and a five-level governance maturity rubric.

Humaira Atiq, Muhammad Irfan Mahsud, Muhammad Iqbal Uddin Arif

Climate change is a transnational problem, that requires localized collective actions. Compared to China and the US which contributes 27% and 11% to global carbon emissions, respectively, Pakistan contributes less than 1% but is among the top ten most vulnerable countries to climate catastrophes. These threats are further escalated by the country’s highly centralized governance structure. These study focuses on the decentralization of climate policies in Pakistan, followed by a polycentric governance system, and highlights its importance in responding to the dynamic nature of climate change in the country. Grounded in Polycentric Governance Theory, a qualitative, deductive research design way employed, relying on primary and secondary data sources. The study reveals that after the 18th amendment in Pakistan, the responsibility related to climate policies has increased on the subnational government; however, its effect remains limited due to constant economic constraints, weak coordination among different governmental bodies, and dependency on international climate finance. This demonstrates that polycentric governance offers a commendable framework for making strong climate responses by involving local actors and providing region-specific solutions. This study concluded policymakers might prioritize intergovernmental coordination, expand subnational budget capacity and use carbon sinking mechanisms as a major tool for reducing climate change impacts.

Mumba Pupwe

The present study analyzed the utilization of the CDF for climate resilience projects in vulnerable communities of Sinazongwe District, Southern Province. It was observed that vulnerable communities in Sinazongwe continue to experience water scarcity, reduced agricultural output, and livelihood insecurity, despite the availability of expanded CDF resources meant to address these climate stresses. The study adopted a descriptive case study design with a mixed-methods approach, and sampled 120 respondents using both random and non-random (purposive or non-probability) sampling procedures. The study then employed the semi-structured questionnaires to community members/beneficiaries, to gather quantitative data; as well as the conduction of interviews using the semi-structured interview guide on the CDF committee members, WDCs, and government officials, to gather in-depth qualitative insights; and FGD held with community groups to understand collective perceptions, and challenges. The findings revealed that major CDF-funded climate resilience interventions included borehole drilling and rehabilitation, irrigation projects, conservation farming, tree planting, and water supply systems. Water-related projects were identified as the most significant interventions because they improved access to water, household food security, irrigation activities, and community coping capacity during drought periods. The study further established that community participation mainly occurred through community meetings and Ward Development Committees, although participation remained largely consultative rather than fully empowering. The findings also revealed that political influence, inadequate funding, delayed disbursement of funds, limited technical expertise, weak monitoring systems, and poor integration of DRR affected effectiveness and sustainability of climate resilience interventions. The study concluded that CDF has significant potential to support local climate resilience and livelihood improvement through decentralized financing. However, climate resilience interventions remained inadequate relative to increasing climate-related risks affecting vulnerable communities in Sinazongwe District. The study recommends increased climate-focused funding under CDF, stronger integration of Disaster Risk Reduction into local development planning, improved community participation, strengthened governance and accountability systems, enhanced technical capacity, and greater investment in early warning systems, environmental conservation, and sustainable livelihood diversification.

Nanditha R

Climate change presents intensifying environmental, economic, and social challenges, particularly for developing countries such as India, where climate vulnerability intersects with pressing developmental priorities including energy access, poverty alleviation, and sustainable urbanization. While global frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement establish mitigation and adaptation targets, their effectiveness depends significantly on decentralized and community-driven implementation. In this context, community-based climate solutions (CBCS) have emerged as an important bridge between national policy commitments and localized climate action. This paper examines India’s renewable energy transition and electric mobility initiatives as examples of decentralized climate governance. Renewable energy programmes implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, especially rooftop solar expansion and the PM-KUSUM scheme, promote distributed power generation, solar irrigation, and farmer-centric energy systems. These interventions contribute not only to carbon emission reduction but also to rural income diversification, agricultural resilience, and enhanced energy security. By encouraging local ownership and participatory models, such programmes integrate climate mitigation with inclusive development objectives. Complementing these initiatives, electric mobility policies advanced by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, including the PM E-Drive scheme, support the adoption of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and public transport systems. These measures reduce urban air pollution, lower fossil fuel dependence, and create green employment opportunities within emerging clean energy value chains. The diffusion of electric mobility further demonstrates how local entrepreneurship, cooperatives, and community participation can accelerate low-carbon transitions. By situating these initiatives within a community-based governance framework, the study argues that decentralized renewable energy systems and electric mobility expansion reinforce climate mitigation and adaptation while promoting socio-economic empowerment. The analysis concludes that India’s evolving climate strategy reflects a gradual shift toward participatory and multi-level governance models. Strengthening institutional coordination, expanding climate finance access, and enhancing local capacity-building remain essential to sustaining and scaling community-based climate action in alignment with global climate commitments.

Mark Gerald Ruiz, Ramona Maria Miral, John Paolo Rivera

This paper examines the fiscal impacts of climate-related events in the Philippines and proposes policy measures to build a climate-resilient economy. Through cross-sectional analysis, it finds that the fiscal resilience of local government units (LGUs) is influenced by their dependence on external revenues, the availability of preallocated funds, and the severity of disasters. The results underscore the need for region-specific fiscal strategies that diverge from conventional frameworks, given the country’s decentralized disaster management system and the pivotal role of local institutions. The study recommends establishing a dedicated climate resilience fund, adopting climate-responsive budgeting, strengthening risk transfer mechanisms, incentivizing green investments, and enhancing LGU capacity to manage adaptation financing. Additionally, investments in climate research, data-driven governance, and public awareness are essential. Aligning climate finance with long-term development goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would integrate resilience into national planning, enabling the Philippines to better withstand climate risk while promoting sustainable growth and fiscal stability.

Xiu-Min Chen, Ke-Liang Wang, Yunhe Cheng, Zhuang Miao

Amid intensifying climate change and rapid urbanization, urban ecosystems face unprecedented disturbances. Enhancing urban ecological resilience (UER) is thus a key governance issue. The explosive growth of digital finance (DF) has reshaped capital flows, but its ecological effects are dynamic and stage-specific. This study uses a dynamic nonlinear model to systematically explore the DF-UER relationship. The results reveal that: (1) There exists a U-shaped relationship between DF and UER. In the early stage, DF may negatively impact UER; however, Whereas as DF matures, it positively influences UER, with robust results from various tests. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the U-shaped relationship between DF and UER is more pronounced in smart city pilot cities, high government ecological attention cities, and cities with a high degree of market integration. (3) Mechanism tests reveal that DF has a U-shaped impact on green capital allocation, renewable energy technology innovation, and industrial structure optimization, consequently leading to a U-shaped effect on UER. (4) Fiscal decentralization and financial regulation strengthen the U-shaped relationship, whereas artificial intelligence tends to weaken it and may even reverse this trend. These findings point out the possible structural friction of DF, and provide valuable insights for supporting China and other economies to balance financial expansion and ecological security.

Fatuma Bwanaheri Abdulrahman, Dudy Heryadi, Siti Aliyuna Pratisti

This paper analyses the World Bank initiatives in promoting its role in decentralizing climate finance through the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) and the Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) in Lamu County, Kenya. A qualitative case study is used to examine the substantial tension between the Bank's perception of its institutional function, its actual bureaucratic performance, and the pressing demands, through the intersection of Function of Role Theory and Climate Resilience Theory. A significant implementation gap is revealed from the empirical findings, highlighting that the creation of the local ward committees in the projects purportedly regularizes climate governance. However, the strict procurement regulations provided by the Bank, systemic delays in the release of funds, and strict environmental standards have compromised local sovereignty. Misplaced expectations are frequently encounters through these efforts and the occurrence of elite capture, hindering marginalized groups from cultivating genuine and transformative resilience. This paper concludes that the international development finances must abandon rigid technological imposition in favour of adaptable funding models and genuinely integrate local survival knowledge to thrive in extremely fragile socio-ecological zones.

Fabio Capra-Ribeiro, Jéssica Peres, Filippo Vegezzi, Daniel Belandria

Implementation remains a central challenge in urban policy, yet the knowledge formats designed to bridge the gap between policy goals and on-the-ground delivery remain under-examined. This study treats 250 UN-Habitat Best Practice reports not as proof of effectiveness but as a standardized genre through which local interventions are narrated, compressed, and made portable for replication. We extract three focal sections, namely Results, Lessons Learned, and Transferability, apply systematic thematic coding with 906 open codes consolidated into axial categories, and compute co-occurrence networks using Jaccard similarity and Lift to detect thematic bundles, holes, and silos within and across sections. Three findings emerge. First, the reporting repertoire narrows progressively, as mean thematic richness declines by 28.2% from Results to Transfers while concentration increases 4.2 times, with substantive dimensions such as governance, equity, sustainability, and evidence losing prevalence to circulation-oriented themes. Second, formal bundle detection yields zero qualifying pairs across all six matrices, indicating a loosely coupled reporting grammar anchored by generic silos rather than integrated implementation packages. Third, structural holes concentrate at the pipeline’s end, where infrastructure transfer and sustainability as transferable value are the most systematically disconnected themes. These patterns reveal a portability paradox in which the reporting format achieves institutional legibility, making practices comparable within a shared vocabulary, but progressively filters out the physical, evidentiary, and context-sensitive content that operational reproduction would require.

Md. Mustaqim Roshid, Sohidul Islam, Bablu Kumar Dhar, Stella Scholastica Crowley · 6 authors

Environmental sustainability transitions require robust indicator-based evidence to evaluate how technological, financial, and governance factors shape progress toward carbon neutrality. However, the environmental sustainability indicators literature still offers limited evidence on how these structural drivers jointly influence a core environmental indicator within a single advanced economy context . This study examines Canada’s carbon transition by assessing the long- and short-run effects of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, stock market capitalization, fiscal decentralization, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth on CO 2 emissions over the period 1990 to 2023. Grounded in the integrated insights of the Environmental Kuznets Curve, Ecological Modernization Theory, and the Technology-Environment Nexus, the study employs autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing, which is well suited to mixed orders of integration and relatively small annual time-series samples , complemented by FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR estimators. The findings show that AI innovation and financial system expansion are associated with higher emissions in the long run, whereas fiscal decentralization and renewable energy consumption contribute to emissions reduction. These results suggest that technological and financial advancement do not automatically improve environmental performance unless supported by effective governance and sustainability-oriented policy coordination. The findings offer policy-relevant insights for designing governance and monitoring frameworks that better align innovation, finance, and decentralized decision-making with long-term environmental sustainability goals.

Dilli Prasad Poudel, Thaisa Comelli, Sophie Blackburn, Rojani Manandhar · 5 authors

The decentralization of authority, capability and finance is widely considered to be best practice in urban risk governance. Drawing on the concept of misframing from critical justice theory, we analyse injustices arising from the de jure decentralization of risk governance in Nepal, scrutinizing multi-scalar urban risk governance and its impact on resilient and equitable urban planning. Informed by qualitative research conducted from 2019 to 2024, we ask: How does the (mis)framing of risk governance affect local actors’ capacities to manage risks? And to what extent can inclusive, risk-informed urban planning and policy facilitate just decentralization? We identify a disconnect between risk-management responsibilities assigned to local government and its capacity to meet these expectations. Proposing a typology of misframing, we provide recommendations for the design and deployment of more equitable and contextually appropriate financial, technological and administrative decentralization as a pathway to justice that can overcome rigid scalar jurisdictions.

Lazarus Ramandei, Marsal Arung Lamba

Urban flooding has become an increasingly critical challenge in Indonesian cities, exacerbated by climate change, rapid urbanization, and deteriorating conventional gray infrastructure. Green infrastructure emerges as a transformative approach to urban flood management, offering multifunctional benefits beyond traditional drainage systems. However, successful implementation faces significant governance and financing barriers. This conceptual paper examines governance models and financing mechanisms for green infrastructure deployment in Indonesian urban contexts, with specific focus on flood mitigation. Through synthesis of international best practices and Indonesian policy frameworks, this study proposes an integrated blue-green-gray governance model that combines nature-based solutions with engineered facilities. The analysis reveals that Public-Private Partnership schemes, combined with innovative financing instruments such as green bonds, land value capture, and climate funds, can address the infrastructure financing gap while ensuring long-term sustainability. The paper contributes to urban planning discourse by proposing a strategic framework that integrates fiscal policy, spatial planning, and multi-stakeholder governance for enhanced flood resilience. Findings suggest that decentralized implementation coupled with strong central coordination, clear regulatory frameworks, and community engagement are essential for effective green infrastructure deployment. This research offers actionable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and infrastructure developers in advancing sustainable flood management strategies aligned with Indonesia’s climate adaptation goals and the 2045 vision

BAKOLI Bondjemba Prosper-Joël

This study examines access to clean and sustainable energy in the city of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of Congo. Using a mixed-method approach combining surveys of 150 households and semi-structured interviews, it highlights a strong dependence on traditional energy sources such as wood and charcoal, despite a growing adoption of solar energy. Results show that 30% of households already use solar energy for lighting, while 72% still rely on charcoal for cooking. The main barriers to energy transition are the high initial cost of equipment and the lack of information about clean technologies. The study concludes that the energy transition in Mbandaka is technically feasible and socially desirable but requires institutional support, inclusive financing mechanisms, and participatory governance. It advocates for a territorial approach based on decentralization and environmental education.

Saeed Khorrami, Maria Carmen Falvo, M. Pompili

Energy Communities (ECs) have emerged as central legal instruments for decentralized renewable energy deployment across Europe; however, their long-term viability depends critically on financial sustainability mechanisms that remain inadequately understood. This study examines the economic foundations of ECs through a narrative literature review of revenue generation, cost allocation, and the capital mobilization pathways in three representative European markets (Germany, Spain, and Italy). A structured Scopus database search identified 280 peer-reviewed studies published between 2019 and 2025. Following systematic screening, 89 articles were selected for analysis through bibliometric mapping in R (Biblioshiny) and qualitative synthesis in NVivo. The analysis reveals that stable feed-in tariffs, tax incentives, and self-consumption remuneration schemes form the primary revenue mechanisms, while cost management effectiveness varies substantially across countries due to differing grid-charge structures and administrative frameworks. Capital access remains constrained for smaller communities despite hybrid financing innovations combining public grants, cooperative equity, and emerging crowdfunding mechanisms. Regulatory heterogeneity, high upfront investment requirements, and limited institutional credit availability continue to impede scalability. The findings emphasize that achieving widespread EC adoption requires harmonized policy frameworks, transparent cost-sharing arrangements, and diversified investment instruments that align local participation with national decarbonization objectives while ensuring equitable access across diverse socio-economic contexts.

Imoleayo Abraham Awodele, Molusiwa S. Ramabodu, Nathaniel Ayinde Olatunde, Iruka C. Anugwo

Africa is richly endowed with renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, and hydropower, yet the continent faces a significant energy access deficit, with over 600 million people lacking reliable electricity. Traditional fossil fuel-based energy models have proven inadequate for meeting the region's growing energy demands while posing environmental and economic challenges. This study explores the need to transcend these conventional energy paradigms by accelerating the adoption of sustainable, inclusive renewable energy systems tailored to Africa's unique context. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study employed document analysis of policy reports, scholarly literature, and energy market trends to examine the continent's renewable energy transition. Thematic analysis identified key barriers such as limited access to financing, fragmented regulatory frameworks, and insufficient technical capacity. However, the findings also highlight transformative opportunities, including decentralized energy systems for off-grid rural communities, digital innovations, and international climate finance. The study recommends empowering community-driven energy models, adopting innovative financing mechanisms such as microcredit and crowdfunding and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration. These measures will not only expand energy access but also position Africa as a leader in global climate action, environmental sustainability, and inclusive energy innovation. Keywords: Renewable Energy Transition; Decentralized Energy Systems; Sustainable Development; Africa Energy Policy.

Yuvarajan Devarajan, Raja Thandavamoorthy, Dhirendra Nath Thatoi, Pradeep Kumar Jangid · 9 authors

Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG-7) seeks universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy by 2030, yet progress remains uneven and structurally constrained. Despite declining renewable energy costs, around 685 million people lack electricity and more than 2 billion depend on traditional biomass for cooking. This review moves beyond descriptive assessments by providing a systematic, decision-oriented synthesis of SDG-7 pathways. Using a replicable PRISMA-informed protocol, it integrates peer-reviewed studies and authoritative international datasets published between 2015 and 2025. Centralized, decentralized, and hybrid energy systems are evaluated in terms of technical maturity, affordability, governance feasibility, and socio-environmental impacts. A structured barrier-to-intervention framework identifies context-specific challenges, including intermittency, financing risk, institutional capacity, infrastructure gaps, and climatic and geopolitical exposure, alongside viable technological and policy responses. Comparative case studies from India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America explain divergent outcomes of similar technologies across institutional and market contexts, and development pathways globally.

Henrietta Ighomrore

Clean energy transitions increasingly depend on the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access capital on terms that allow them to compete with large, vertically integrated incumbents. At a macro level, clean energy finance has evolved from subsidy-heavy public funding toward blended models combining private capital, risk-sharing instruments, and performance-based incentives. These structures aim to lower the cost of capital, correct market failures, and accelerate diffusion of renewable technologies across national energy systems. However, capital markets continue to privilege scale, balance-sheet strength, and long operating histories, creating persistent financing asymmetries that disadvantage smaller firms. This study situates clean energy financing within broader frameworks of financial inclusion, industrial competitiveness, and energy market liberalization. It examines how innovative financing architectures such as blended finance vehicles, green credit guarantees, pay-as-you-save schemes, revenue-backed project finance, and aggregated procurement platforms reshape risk allocation and margin dynamics. By reducing upfront capital requirements, smoothing cash flows, and improving bankability, these models enable SMEs to price energy products and services competitively while maintaining sustainable margins. Narrowing to the national context, the analysis highlights how policy design, regulatory certainty, and domestic financial infrastructure determine whether financing innovations translate into real competitive parity. Case-informed synthesis shows that when concessional capital is strategically deployed to crowd in commercial lenders, small enterprises can achieve cost structures comparable to larger incumbents, expand market share, and drive decentralized energy adoption. The findings underscore that clean energy competition is not solely a technological challenge, but a financial architecture problem, where well-designed financing models are decisive in leveling margins and unlocking inclusive energy-led growth at national scale under diverse regulatory and macroeconomic conditions globally relevant insights.

Khalid Ahmed, Abdul Khalique, Bareerah Khan

Despite Pakistan's long-enduring chronic energy crisis, a recent surge in solar generation supplied nearly 25 % of the national electricity grid in the first quarter of 2025, broadening access and easing cost pressures. Conversely, IMF conditionality under IMF financing programs, such as tariff rebasing and a 10 % sales tax on solar imports, risk undermining these distributive gains. This study examines the interaction between solar adoption, IMF credit, and household electricity prices in shaping energy justice, using annual data from 2007 to 2024. We capture direct, mediated, and dynamic effects using time-series analysis and causal mediation models, respectively. Results show that a 1 % increase in solar generation reduces injustice by 0.142 points ( p < 0.01), with benefits most substantial in rural areas. Mediation analysis demonstrates that IMF credit alleviates injustice only when channeled through solar adoption ( β = 0.251 → SE; Sobel z = −2.47), while tariff hikes directly worsen inequality ( β = −0.399, p < 0.05) but partially induce adoption. VAR evidence reveals that price shocks immediately intensify injustice, whereas solar shocks reduce disparities gradually. Results conclude that solar energy holds great promise, but cannot single-handedly drive a just transition. Achieving equitable outcomes requires addressing policy barriers by removing regressive fiscal measures, safeguarding net-metering, dedicating IMF resources to decentralized solar projects in marginalized communities, and broadening targeted subsidies for low-income populations. A failure to implement such measures could render Pakistan's solar expansion exclusive, thereby widening inequality. • Solar deployment substantially reduces distributive energy injustice in Pakistan, with a 1 % rise in solar output lowering injustice by 0.142 points. • IMF credit enhances distributive energy justice only when directed toward solar investment. • Household electricity prices drive energy injustice: tariff hikes intensify inequality but spur limited, inequitable solar adoption. • Price shocks incur immediate and enduring distributive costs, whereas the equity benefits of solar adoption accrue gradually. • Achieving an equitable transition requires embedding distributive justice in fiscal and financing frameworks.

Md. Al Amin Alamin, Sabekun Nahar Setu

This research investigates the barriers to effective climate finance in Bangladesh, a Least Developed Country (LDC) highly vulnerable to climate threats such as sea-level rise, cyclones, salinity intrusion, and flooding. Despite receiving a significant share of international climate funds for LDCs, Bangladesh faces persistent challenges including complex access procedures, reliance on loan-based financing, institutional limitations, and centralized governance. The study examines Bangladesh's legal and institutional frameworks, including the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) and the Climate Change Trust Act 2010, alongside constitutional and judicial environmental commitments. Findings reveal systemic issues such as limited local participation, donor-driven management, and concerns over debt sustainability. Key recommendations include shifting towards grant-based finance, expanding legal standing for environmental litigation, decentralizing fund access to local governments, and enacting a dedicated Climate Change Act. The study underscores the imperative for Bangladesh to embed climate justice within its legal and financial systems and to advocate strongly in international climate forums. This research contributes valuable insights to the global discourse on climate justice and resilience for the most vulnerable nations.