Dear SunCulture Supporters,

In last year’s annual letter, I advocated for a more focused approach to how capital gets allocated and what it needs to be allocated to in order to scale climate resilience technology, and specifically, solar irrigation. My sense of urgency on this has continued to increase, and for good reason: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that “global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades.”

Closer to where I am right now, Eastern Africa is experiencing its worst drought in decades. The landscape is barren, rotten with the stench of dead livestock and wildlife carcasses, and a humanitarian crisis is escalating. The impacts of global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C above pre-industrial levels will be devastating for everyone, including you. Chapter 3 in this special report and this entire report explain why.

Our work at SunCulture reduces and prevents greenhouse gas emissions while increasing food supply and ensuring that those most affected by climate change are more resilient.

Our recent work with 60 Decibels shows that:

• 94% of our customers improved their quality of life
• 96% improved their way of farming
• 90% increased crop production
• 98% reported the ability to cover emergency expenses, which translates to increased resilience against future shocks

We don’t have much time (less than 10 years) to make the changes necessary to protect the lives we live, and the lives of those who come after us. The same IPCC report projects that children under 12 will experience a fourfold increase in natural disasters in their lifetime.

Solar irrigation is neither a perfect solution nor the only solution, but it’s one that simultaneously supports climate adaptation and mitigation, energy access, food security, poverty alleviation, political stability, and, in many cases, responsible water resource management.

Last year, I made suggestions on how to scale solar irrigation using data from Dalberg and Mercy Corps’s work, Achieving Food Security in Kenya Through Smart Solar Irrigation. The report concluded that it would only cost USD 96 million in end-user subsidies over five years to achieve food security in Kenya. That’s not a lot of money, especially when compared to the approximately USD 2 billion that the country spends importing food each year. We can then use Kenya as a template to replicate programs to reach 100% food security in other countries around the world. We estimate that it would only cost $13 billion to end world hunger. That’s about as much money as it costs to run a World Cup.