The Global South continues to bear the heaviest impact of climate change compared to the Global North, marked by unpredictable weather events, heat waves, floods, droughts, fires, and diseases.

The situation is compounded by some of the most severe impacts of environmental degradation and resource scarcity. Yet, it is also here that innovative partnerships between philanthropy and technology are reshaping the narrative, offering new hope for sustainable development and resilience.

The immense potential that this technological wave creates cannot be gain-stated.

One of the most ambitious initiatives is the Drive Electric Campaign, a philanthropy-powered global initiative. The campaign aims to accelerate the transition to 100 percent sales of zero-emission electric cars, trucks, buses, and 2 & 3 wheelers for the benefit of health, climate, and the economy.

In November 2022, Drive Electric launched a fund to advance transportation electrification in emerging economies worldwide. The LEAP Fund (Leapfrogging to E-mobility Acceleration Partnership) aimed at supporting low-carbon transitions and avoiding the lock-in of fossil-fueled vehicles by investing in electric transportation technology ‘leapfrogging.’

As part of the fund’s first phase, 10 projects in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia received funding totaling US$1 million in grants.

‘Every community deserves clean air, and zero-emission vehicles are the future of transportation,’ said Rebecca Fisher, director of the Drive Electric Campaign during the launch.

‘Our LEAP Fund provides catalytic funding to organisations in emerging markets to support increased access to electric transportation and all its benefits as economies develop instead of locking in carbon emissions and polluting technologies.’

The LEAP Fund was motivated by a desire to support opportunities for acceleration that arise in emerging economies that want to lead, contributing to a fair and equitable transition to decarbonize transportation for all.

Developing and emerging economies are working to ramp up EV deployment but need additional investment to support infrastructure development and reduce upfront costs.

Through philanthropic resources, the fund can support country-led efforts in EV adoption and unlock private and public investment for accelerated action.

‘E-mobility has the potential to improve the air quality of cities in South Africa while contributing to the momentum to shift to renewable energy,’ said Lusanda Madikizela, Senior Programme Manager, E-Bus Mission at C40 Cities South Africa, a LEAP Fund participant.

‘We are excited to partner with the Drive Electric Campaign to support our work on ambitious e-bus deployment in South African cities.

Since a majority of the Global South is blessed with solar and other green energy sources, there have been efforts to reduce dependency on fossil sources.

In Kenya, for instance, President William Ruto has committed to honour the country’s obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

‘We remain firmly on course to meet the pollution reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. We are also taking decisive steps to shift to zero-emission,’ he said.

While launching a national e-mobility programme in September 2023, President Ruto said the Government would adopt innovative, clean, and sustainable energy technologies.

Solar power

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar photovoltaic (PV) systems alone could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by up to six billion tons per year by 2050, significantly contributing to efforts to limit global temperature rise and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

It adds that in addition to its environmental benefits, solar energy offers significant economic advantages and opportunities for job creation.

A report from the IEA notes, ‘As the cost of solar energy continues to decline and economies of scale are realized, solar energy has become increasingly competitive with conventional energy sources, attracting investment and driving innovation in the renewable energy sector.’

Innovation and technology have also been instrumental in enhancing land restoration and forest conservation, which according to statistics is key to addressing the existential challenge of climate change in the Global South.

The Bezos Earth Fund, for instance, stands out for its immense contribution to the Global South.

Through its partnership with One Acre Fund programme, The Bezos Fund  is working to restore 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested land.

‘Specifically, our work aims to accelerate restoration in the Rusizi Basin, part of the broader Congo Basin ecosystem; and in the Great Rift Valley, which is home to critically important forests. These landscapes were chosen for their importance as biodiversity hotspots, water catchment areas, and food baskets – as well as the presence of hundreds of restoration entrepreneurs and community leaders that need support,’ The Bezos Earth Fund states on its website.

The task is not, however, simple and is the culmination of months of planning and preparation. Each seed had to be carefully sourced, and then delivered to remote, hard-to-reach rural nurseries at the right time in the season for planting. They had to be tended, watered, and shaded by the nursery managers.

In February this year, Bezos Earth Fund and the Jane Goodall Institute-USA (JGI) announced plans to further expand its evidence-based, community-led conservation efforts to protect forests and biodiversity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo (RoC) — a critically important region essential to the healthy functioning of our shared planet.

With a $5 million grant provided by the Earth Fund, JGI will continue and expand these conservation efforts across an area roughly the size of Connecticut focused on three regions covering 701,660 hectares in the DRC, and five regions covering 805,828 hectares in the RoC.

But while innovation and technology have many positive attributes, it also has its negatives. For instance, ‘modern’ food systems have been blamed for taking a toll on ecosystems, nutrition, income, and rights protections of smallholder farmers and Indigenous peoples.

According to Daniel Moss, the Co-Director of The Agroecology Fund, peer-reviewed research assigns approximately 33 percent of greenhouse gas emissions to industrial agriculture, meaning that, without a radical reshaping of food systems, we are unlikely to stabilise the Earth’s climate.

Bottom Line

Innovation and technology offer the best way out of the climate change crisis staring at Global South countries. With every technological advance comes an opportunity for philanthropies to upscale funding for projects and programmes aimed at combating climate change in developing countries.

As Moss warns in his call for support, there is a need for a greater climate philanthropy community to seize this moment and dramatically increase funding of grassroots movements whose work is rooted in research and learning processes that result in effective solutions for local contexts, and not just for food systems.

Rose Ng’ang’a is a Communications and Media Specialist specialising in impactful messaging. She comments on gender and climate change issues.