In combination, international aviation and shipping contribute about 3 percent of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere each year. Emissions in 2022 from international aviation were 436 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, while from international shipping the figure was 706 Mt/CO2eq – about the same as Germany (746 Mt of CO2eq). If within-country emissions […]
Urban areas are increasingly prone to flooding due to climate change, rising urbanization, and inadequate stormwater management. A recent paper estimated that 1.81 billion people, or 23% of the world population, are directly exposed to a 1-in-100-year flood event, posing significant risk to lives and livelihoods. As climate change further disrupts weather patterns, river flows, and sea levels, […]
Dependence on fossil fuels in many countries leads to a vicious cycle of increasing costs, higher energy prices for consumers, more pollution that impacts people’s health, and higher greenhouse gas emissions that endanger the planet. In contrast, transitioning to renewable energy can unlock a virtuous cycle that produces lower-cost electricity for consumers, builds resilience, and helps […]
The world’s 28 poorest countries are facing growing social, economic, and political distress, owing to rising debt burdens, diminishing development prospects, and chronic underinvestment. The world’s wealthier countries have chosen exactly the worst moment to become less generous with aid and development assistance. The poorest countries are in desperate straits, and the rest of the world […]
Trust is a crucial element for peacebuilding, recovery, and development, especially in fragile contexts like Northern Mozambique. In the wake of the trauma induced by conflict, when the social fabric has been torn apart, trust is a critical ingredient that helps to reconcile and unite disparate groups and dispel suspicion. This is why so much […]
In today’s rapidly changing world, citizen engagement has emerged as a crucial element in development projects. By empowering citizens and involving them in decision-making processes, development interventions can become more inclusive and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people they are designed to benefit . The World Bank´s Caribbean Hotspot Project, implemented under the Critical Ecosystem […]
Urban areas are increasingly prone to flooding due to climate change, rising urbanization, and inadequate stormwater management. A recent paper estimated that 1.81 billion people, or 23% of the world population, are directly exposed to a 1-in-100-year flood event, posing significant risk to lives and livelihoods. As climate change further disrupts weather patterns, river flows, and sea levels, […]
With more than 50 percent of its population living in hardship, Guatemala has one of the highest poverty rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. This is undoubtedly a difficult situation for us to accept, but from a historical perspective, we can nevertheless see that some progress has been made . For example, in the mid-1980s, around […]
Learning to read is deeply influenced by language abilities which begin developing at birth. To be able to read, children need to ‘sound out’ words (decode) and understand what those words mean (language comprehension). Reading comprehension is a product of these two tasks and a deficit in either skill will severely limit a child’s ability […]
The 2023 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made towards achieving the SDGs. The report highlights critical findings that are essential to understanding the current state of the world and the challenges that lie ahead. Below are a few we found particularly impactful. 1. COVID-19 Vaccines Have Saved Many […]
