Climate & Energy

We work on the social and economic dimensions of climate and energy, including energy access, clean cooking, land use, carbon finance, and climate risk insurance.

Resampled 4096px a solar panel installation in a coastal area image by skysail innovation

Laterite has experience conducting research on climate and energy topics. We’ve conducted impact evaluations, large-scale surveys, and environmental data collection—such as soil testing, water and air quality testing, tree-tagging for coffee yields, and classroom noise and temperature measurements. Our work spans themes on clean cooking, energy access, responsible mining, fairtrade certifications, land use, climate risk insurance and carbon finance. We apply quantitative, qualitative, and geospatial methods to generate evidence and explore how climate and energy intersect with sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and livelihoods.

Examples of work

Geospatial analysis

Laterite is working with Compassionate Carbon in Tanzania to design a spatial matching evaluation using treatment polygons, Alpha Earth satellite embeddings, and geospatial features to construct a control universe and establish a credible counterfactual.

Climate economics research

In partnership with GGGI, ATA, and Kifiya in Ethiopia, we assessed farmers’ willingness to pay for climate-related crop insurance. The study informed pricing, product design, and subsidy decisions for a potential hybrid insurance scheme.

Energy impact evaluations

Laterite supported a longitudinal study in Rwanda led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to evaluate the health and economic impacts of clean cookstoves. We managed data collection, including household surveys, air quality monitoring, and anthropometric measurements.

Land use & forest monitoring

With the Rainforest Alliance in Peru, we developed a live monitoring dashboard that provides insights into land use patterns, strengthening data for climate monitoring. We also used tree-tagging methods to estimate coffee yields in Uganda with One Acre Fund, advancing evidence that supports climate-smart energy and agriculture transitions.

Measuring the impact of an agroforestry program

Laterite, in collaboration with One Acre Fund and with funding from GiveWell, is leading a randomized controlled trial in Rwanda to assess the impact of agroforestry interventions on smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and environmental outcomes. By testing how tree planting programs influence adoption, land use, and ecosystem restoration, this study generates rigorous evidence on forestry-based solutions to climate change. Covering over 4,000 households across six districts, the project strengthens Laterite’s expertise in measuring the social, economic, and environmental impacts of climate adaptation programs.