About the event
Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, yet rigorous evidence on how to address it is not informing the large public investments flowing into climate action. Analysis from the Center for Global Development suggests only a tiny fraction of almost USD 100 billion in annual public finance is supported by rigorous evidence on what works, for whom, and at what cost. The cost of failure is potentially catastrophic, making investing in evidence-informed climate action a cheap insurance policy we can no longer afford to ignore.
This three-part Evidence Dialogues series, convened by 3ie in partnership with What Works Climate Solutions, brings together experts to take stock of where the field stands and to ask, collectively, what it will take to build a stronger, more inclusive evidence ecosystem for climate action.
Through these discussions, we explore what current evidence tells us, why building support for rigorous evaluation has proven so difficult, and how the field can work together to strengthen demand for evidence and embed it in climate decision-making. The series is designed to stimulate the cross-sector dialogue and collective action that the climate evidence agenda urgently needs. This really is a time when trusted evidence on what works is needed more than ever.
Our series is a catalyst for a broad, field-wide effort to strengthen the evidence ecosystem for climate action. The climate evidence field has the knowledge, the networks, and the momentum to do much better – and this Evidence Dialogues series is our invitation to make that change happen together.
Register for the virtual event on 28 May 2026 on the link provided.
State of the evidence on climate: what works, what doesn't, and where are the gaps?
Time: 2:00pm- 3:00pm GMT / 10AM-11:00AM EST / 7:30PM- 8:30PM IST
Close to USD 100 billion of public finance is invested in climate interventions every year — in forest protection, clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, and resilience-building — but do we know what works, for whom and at what cost?
The series opens by taking stock of the evolving evidence base across climate-related sectors in low- and middle-income countries, unpacking where research is gaining traction and where critical gaps remain. We draw on existing impact evaluations, synthesis work, and evidence maps to explore what evidence exists and what it is telling us.
Climate evidence should be used to drive better decisions today. In this first session, participants examine the case for greater ambition, coordination and strategic investment to fill the gaps that matter most for people and the environment.
Speakers:
- Martin Prowse, Evidence Specialist, Climate Evaluation, University of East Anglia;
- Jan Minx, Head of the Evidence for Climate Solutions Working Group, PIK, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Lead, What Works for Climate Solutions;
- Clarice Panyin Nyan, Associate Researcher at International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED)
- Birte Snilsveit, Synthesis and Reviews Director, 3ie (moderator)
Why is it so difficult to mobilize support for evidence-informed climate action?
The second session will examine why it has proven so difficult to build a stronger evidence infrastructure for climate action, even as the stakes grow higher and funding has scaled up.
This discussion will look at the structural, political and cultural factors behind that trajectory. What makes rigorous climate evaluation so challenging? How do pressures for rapid action and large-scale deployment shape the supply of evidence? To what extent do methodological constraints—such as long-time horizons, diffuse causality, and context specificity—limit what can be measured and learned?
Drawing on deep evaluation and research experience, panellists will outline how rigorous causal inference is both possible and essential when assessing climate interventions. Further, panellists will explore how the supply of rigorous evaluative evidence can be connected to a coordinated, ambitious, and actionable evidence agenda, and what it will take to build the political and financial support to put this agenda in place.
Speakers: To be confirmed
From evidence to action: how do we build demand for evidence and embed it in climate decision-making?
Generating rigorous evidence on climate interventions is necessary but not sufficient. A further challenge is ensuring that evidence is demanded, valued and used by institutions and decision-makers responsible for climate investments, programming and policy. Too often, major funding decisions are not sufficiently informed by rigorous evaluative evidence.
This session will focus on the demand side of the evidence equation: what does it take to build a culture of evidence use in the climate sector? What are the structural and practical barriers that prevent decision-makers from seeking out and acting on evidence — and what can be done to overcome these hurdles? Speakers will explore practical strategies for embedding evidence in climate investment decisions by governments, multilaterals, bilaterals, funding agencies and implementing organizations. The session will convene policy, funder and practitioner communities to shape what that collective effort looks like.
Speakers: To be confirmed
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