Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 will require an 80% reduction in global fossil fuel extraction compared with 2021 levels. This column estimates the macroeconomic consequences for fossil fuel-producing countries of large declines in extraction, based on a new dataset identifying 35 episodes of major and persistent, exogenous declines in extraction activity. These declines lead […]
UBS’s flagship global wealth management business on Thursday announced a raft of management changes triggered by the Swiss bank’s takeover of Credit Suisse. Several former Credit Suisse managers have got jobs in the changes which affect roughly 180 executives and mainly take effect from July 17. Former Credit Suisse executive Michael Marr will become the head […]
Twitter has threatened to sue Meta Platforms over its new Threads platform in a letter sent to the Facebook parent’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg by Twitter’s lawyer Alex Spiro. Meta, which launched Threads on Wednesday and has logged more than 30 million sign ups, looks to take on Elon Musk’s Twitter by leveraging Instagram’s billions of users. Spiro, in his letter, accused […]
Electric-vehicle maker Tesla rolled out a new program globally allowing buyers to earn extra incentives through referrals from existing customers, a strategy long used by traditional automakers to boost sales. The incentive, which Tesla dubbed as “Refer and Earn” on its websites, is equivalent to about $500 in cashback for buyers in the U.S. who purchase […]
To date, climate change policy actions have primarily been considered from technical and financing perspectives. To make change happen, governance aspects also matter – institutional capabilities, accountability, as well as political economy constraints. This blog is part of a new workstream on political economy challenges and potential avenues for addressing them – with a focus […]
Rapid socioeconomic development and population growth are escalating groundwater overexploitation, creating a potential crisis in Asia and the Pacific. Demand for groundwater has increased steadily in Asia and the Pacific in recent decades, driven by rapid socioeconomic development and population growth. Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, the People’s Republic of China, and Türkiye today account […]
Every child should have access to a high-quality classroom learning experience that is joyous, transformative, and prepares them for life. That is not happening. The pandemic exacerbated the global learning crisis, and an estimated 70% of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot even read a simple text by age 10. The need to recover […]
Last year saw a rebound in migration flows following a pandemic-induced decline in 2020-21. Today, an estimated 184 million migrants live outside the country of their citizenship. Of this total, refugees number 37 million, including the 7.8 million Ukrainians who have been seeking shelter in the EU since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Cross-border […]
The insurance sector can be a game-changer by managing risks from climate change in Asia and the Pacific, protecting ecosystems, and supporting the shift towards a sustainable future. Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. Asia and the Pacific produces about half of global greenhouse gas emissions. If no action on climate change is taken, […]
A sandy corner of South-Eastern Morocco hosts what could be the key to achieving the world’s net zero ambitions. It is a research center for renewable energy storage built by Masen, the Moroccan Sustainable Energy Agency, that conducts research and testing on new ways to create and store solar energy. The World Bank’s ESMAP has joined several innovative […]
