The Climate Policy for Development (CPfD) is an EfD Collaborative that aims to advance policy-relevant research on carbon pricing and climate policies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and Global South. Our goal is to generate evidence-based solutions to help governments design and implement effective climate policies that foster sustainable development while addressing key economic and social challenges. By bridging the gap between researchers and policymakers, CPfD aims to facilitate inclusive and equitable low-carbon growth pathways that align with global climate commitments.
We envision a future where developing countries proactively shape climate policy agendas, leveraging research insights to implement adaptive strategies, promote clean energy transitions, and strengthen resilience to climate change. CPfD supports research-policy partnerships that ensure policy decisions are informed by rigorous empirical evidence, ultimately leading to transformative climate action.
CPfD’s Approach
CPfD’s work is structured around three key pillars:
- Policy-engaged research – Conducting high-quality research on climate mitigation and adaptation strategies while working closely with governments to ensure research findings inform policy decisions
- Capacity building – Strengthening the analytical and technical capacity of policymakers, researchers, and institutions in LMICs through training programs, workshops, and collaborative projects
- Global knowledge exchange – Partnering with EfD centers and international institutions to share best practices, enhance methodological rigor, and integrate LMIC perspectives into global climate policy discussions
CPfD’s Focus Areas
CPfD’s research and policy engagement efforts cover several critical areas:
- Carbon pricing and emissions reduction – Assessing the benefits and costs of market-based instruments such as carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes to facilitate low-carbon transitions in developing countries
- The political economy of climate policy – Understanding the forces that frame climate policy in different types of economy
- Political and social acceptability of climate policy – Analysing the efficacy, distributional effects and, public opinions and political feasibility of various policies and policy packages
In addition, CPfD also welcomes researchers interested in other areas of climate policy such as climate resilience and adaptation, voluntary carbon markets and land-use policies etc. to engage with the collaborative network.
Through research, capacity-building, and international collaboration, CPfD aims to create a strong research-policy interface that enables LMICs and countries in Global South to design effective climate policies, secure financing for low-carbon development, and contribute to global climate goals while ensuring equitable and sustainable growth.
The CPfD collaborative program is co-led by E. Somanathan and Raavi Aggarwal at EfD India, Jan Steckel at PIK Potsdam, and Thomas Sterner at the University of Gothenburg. Anjali Ramakrishnan at the Global Hub is the liaison researcher for CPfD and Ishita Datta is the Managing Director at CECFEE, EfD India.