J-PAL Water, Air and Energy Lab launch in Cape Town

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Africa and the City of Cape Town, South Africa, with the support of Community Jameel, collaborate to launch the Water, Air and Energy Lab. The lab is part of the J-PAL and Community Jameel-founded Air and Water Labs, a global initiative that partners J-PAL regional offices with government agencies in Egypt, India and South Africa to co-generate evidence-based solutions for water and air challenges, and is an expansion of J-PAL's King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI).

The Water, Air and Energy Lab builds on a decade-long partnership between J-PAL Africa and the City of Cape Town for the generation of evidence on city policies. The lab will address the severe drought and strain on the electricity grid that the city has faced by leveraging in-house data systems, generating research and working with decision-makers to incorporate evidence into key water and electricity issues.

On 14 March 2024, high-level representatives from partnered organisations convene at the Cape Town Civic Centre to commemorate the launch of the lab with keynote remarks, panel discussions and a reception. Co-founders and co-directors of J-PAL and Nobel laureates in economics Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo discuss evidence-based policy, as part of the event.