Sustainable Energy
Energy is considered sustainable if it meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
As CARE, we aim to focus on renewable energy sources only, as these sources are constantly replenished, such as those derived organically or that are naturally recycled. Solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass are all renewable, as opposed to fossil fuels or uranium, which take much longer to create.
Sri Lanka is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean, with a warm and humid climate. The country experiences four distinct climate seasons: two monsoons, the southwest monsoon (Yala) from May to October and the northeast monsoon (Maha) from December to March, as well as two inter-monsoon periods. The southwest monsoon brings heavy rainfall to the western, southern, and central highlands, while the northeast monsoon affects the northern and eastern regions (Climate Change Knowledge Portal). Average annual temperatures range between 28°C and 30°C in coastal areas and can drop to around 15°C in the central highlands. However, climate change is contributing to rising temperatures, with projections indicating an increase of up to 3.5°C by 2100 under high-emission scenarios (World Bank Group).
Sri Lanka is also highly vulnerable to extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, landslides, and cyclones, which have intensified in recent decades. The country experiences significant spatial and temporal variations in both droughts and floods. Climate change is expected to worsen these challenges by increasing rainfall variability and extreme temperatures, leading to additional risks such as salinity intrusion, coastal erosion, and sea level rise. The growing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters pose a significant threat to the country’s socioeconomic development (Asian Development Bank).
In response, Sri Lanka has developed a range of adaptation and mitigation strategies, including commitments under its NDC (2021)to the Paris Agreement. These initiatives focus on strengthening disaster resilience, promoting sustainable agriculture, improving water resource management, and expanding renewable energy sources.
Senegal is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including droughts, locust invasions, flooding and related health outbreaks, sea level rise, coastal erosion, and bushfires (World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal). The country faces recurring environmental shocks, with both droughts and floods intensifying in recent years. Climate change is expected to further increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and natural hazards.
These impacts disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. In 2021, 50.8 percent of the population (then 8.6 million people) was considered multidimensionally poor, while an additional 18.2 percent (about 3.1 million people) was classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty (2023 Multidimensional Poverty index, UNDP). Climate-related impacts, including declining agricultural productivity, rising food prices, coastal flooding and erosion, and associated health risks, particularly affect poorer households. Female-headed households are especially vulnerable economically, even under moderate levels of climate change (World Bank Group Systematic Country Diagnostic of Senegal).
Barbados, a small island nation within the Caribbean region, is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The country is exposed to hurricanes and natural hazards and is particularly susceptible to costal inundation and sea level rise, increasing tidal and storm surge levels, coastal erosion, rising temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, cyclones, and droughts, among others. (World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal).
Barbados has also been noted as a country at the forefront of reforming the world of development finance, particularly in how rich countries help poor countries cope with and adapt to climate change, through movements like the Bridgetown Initiative. (World Economic Forum)
Located in Southeast Asia, the Philippines lies near the equator and within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Due to its geographic location, the country is highly exposed to a wide range of hydrometeorological hazards and ranks first among 193 countries assessed for disaster risk in the World Risk Index 2024.
The effects of the climate crisis are increasingly evident across the country. Low-lying coastal communities are threatened by rising sea levels, while increasingly intense typhoons, averaging around 20 each year (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) bring devastating floods and landslides. Prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall patterns also disrupt agriculture, water resources, and access to basic services. These climate impacts disproportionately affect marginalized communities, exacerbating poverty, gender-based violence, and inequality. At the same time, complex and evolving socioeconomic conditions further increase the country’s vulnerability to the intensifying effects of climate change.
Bangladesh has a humid, warm climate influenced by pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon circulations and frequently experiences heavy precipitation and tropical cyclones (World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal). In the World Risk Report, Bangladesh is 9th among 193 countries assessed for disaster risk (World Risk Index 2023).
In rural areas, where nearly 80 percent of the population lives, climate change has an immediate and direct effect on the health and well-being of millions of people who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. The impacts of climate change are also increasingly felt in large cities that are exposed to various climate-induced hazards, including variations in temperature, excessive and erratic rainfall, waterlogging, flooding, and heat and cold waves (Bangladesh: Finding It Difficult to Keep Cool as cited in Rabbani et al, 2011).
Honduras is a country in Central America, bordered by the Caribbean to the east and the Pacific to the west. The climate is hot and tropical in the coastal lowlands and more temperate in the highlands. Forest takes up 41 percent of the country’s land area, while 27 percent is used for agriculture (World Bank Group, 2021). Approximately 82 percent of the territory is mountainous (ibid.). About 50 percent of the population lives in rural areas – 65 percent of whom live in poverty – and rely on rainfed agriculture (World Bank Group, 2023). Honduras is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its significant exposure to hazards such as hurricanes, drought, tropical storms, floods) (ibid.).
Temperatures are projected to increase by 1-2.5°C by 2050, while extreme rainfall and flooding are expected to become more frequent, alongside overall reductions in rainfall and an increase in droughts (GRID Geneva, n.d.). These changes are likely to negatively affect hydropower production, which currently generates nearly 40 percent of the country’s energy, as well as freshwater availability and quality, particularly in the Dry Corridor (ibid.). Climactic change is also expected to increase the spread of vector- and water-borne diseases, worsen food insecurity, and lead to greater crop losses due to drought and disease. As temperatures rise, coffee, the country’s main agricultural export, may need to be cultivated at higher elevations, increasing pressure on land and accelerating degradation (ibid.). Combined with mining, deforestation, and agro-industry, climate impacts have severely threatened livelihoods and human rights, contributing to displacement and migration among poorer communities (UN, 2023).
Honduras Climate Change National Office (DNCC) is responsible for coordinating national adaptation efforts. According to GRID Geneva (n.d.) Honduras has made progress in establishing a policy and regulatory framework to address climate change, although many measures have yet to be fully implemented.
Syria, officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic, is located in the Middle East and borders Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon. The country has a diverse landscape that includes arid desert plateaus, narrow coastal plains, and mountain ranges in the west. Syria has a predominantly semi-arid to arid climate, characterized by limited water resources and frequent droughts. Summers are typically hot and dry, while winters along the coast are milder and receive most of the country’s rainfall. Inland regions, including the capital Damascus, occasionally experience snowfall.
Rainfall varies significantly across the country, ranging from about 1,365 mm annually in the coastal mountains to as little as 20 mm in the southeastern desert (Climate Change Knowledge Portal). Most of Syria’s land is arid, and natural forests cover only around 2 percent of the country’s total area. Water scarcity is a major concern, with agriculture accounting for approximately 88 percent of freshwater use (IFRC).
Syria has already experienced rising temperatures, with an increase of approximately 0.8°C over the past century. Climate projections indicate a further rise of 1–3°C by 2050 depending on greenhouse gas emission scenarios. This warming trend is expected to intensify heatwaves, prolong drought periods, and further strain water resources. The ND-GAIN Country Index ranks Syria 158th globally, identifying it as the 114th most vulnerable and the 185th least ready country to address climate change impacts.
In addition to climate risks, Syria continues to face ongoing conflict, financial constraints, and extensive infrastructure damage, which complicate the implementation of climate policies. Nevertheless, the country submitted its NDC in 2018, outlining actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2030 through renewable energy expansion, improved energy efficiency, reforestation, and better waste management, alongside adaptation measures in water conservation, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and coastal protection.
Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa located in the Sahel region. Due to its geographic position, the country experiences a hot and dry climate with highly variable rainfall. Around 80 percent of Niger’s land area lies within the Sahel, a region characterized by a strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources for food security and livelihoods, rapid population growth, and recurring humanitarian crises driven by droughts, floods, food insecurity, epidemics, and violent conflict (Climate Change Knowledge Portal). Temperatures in Niger are projected to increase by between 2.0°C and 4.6°C by 2080 compared to pre-industrial levels, with higher temperatures and more frequent temperature extremes expected particularly in the southwest of the country (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
Given these compounding factors, climate change is likely to further exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Water scarcity, longer dry seasons, and rising temperatures may intensify existing pressures, potentially contributing to conflict and forced migration — challenges that already affect the region (USAID Climate Risk Profile, 2017).
Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa and has a coastline along the Indian Ocean. Much of the country consists of highland plateaus situated between 900 and 1,800 meters above sea level, with mountain ranges across several regions. The terrain becomes flatter toward the coast. Tanzania’s climate is largely influenced by altitude, ranging from tropical lowlands in the east to cooler highland climates in the north and southwest. The country is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change across several sectors, including public health, energy supply, infrastructure, water resources, and agriculture (World Bank Group, n.d.). Climate change is expected to intensify the risks associated with extreme weather events, including rainfall variability, prolonged droughts, and floods (ibid.).
Air temperatures in Tanzania are projected to increase under all emission scenarios, with the annual number of very hot days expected to rise significantly (GIZ, 2021). Sea level rise threatens coastal communities and may lead to saline intrusion, affecting water supplies and biodiversity (ibid.). Precipitation projections vary, with some models indicating a substantial decrease — more than 42mm by 2080 compared with 2000 — while others suggest little overall change (ibid.). Water availability may decline significantly in some regions, potentially by up to 76 percent under both RCP2.6 and RCP6.0 scenarios (ibid.). Changes in water flows have already affected Tanzania’s capacity to generate and supply electricity, particularly hydropower, with droughts linked to climate change reducing generation in recent years (United Republic of Tanzania, 2007).
In its first NDC (2021) Tanzania outlines a range of adaptation measures across sectors such as forestry — including participatory sustainable forest management, coastal and marine ecosystems and fisheries, such as promoting livelihood diversification for coastal communities, and energy, including climate-smart rural electrification initiatives.
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