Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
This report by IRENA outlines a pathway for the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and halt the pace of climate change by transforming the global energy landscape. It presents options to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and bring CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050 …
The 2021 State of Cities Climate Finance Report examines the current state of urban climate investment, the barriers to reaching the needed investment levels, and the steps to overcoming these challenges. Produced by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (the Alliance), the report contributes to the Alliance’s mission to mobilize …
The Enabling Conditions for Urban Climate Finance Part 2 is a contribution of the World Bank to the State of Cities Climate Finance Report 2021. Part 2 analyzes enabling frameworks and presents solutions for mobilizing urban climate finance at scale to transition cities to low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathways. It seeks …
The 2021 State of Cities Climate Finance Report examines the current state of urban climate investment, the barriers to reaching the needed investment levels, and the steps to overcoming these challenges. Produced by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (the Alliance), the report contributes to the Alliance’s mission to mobilize …
The COVID-19 crisis, which has sent economies in South Asia and around the world into a deep recession, has highlighted South Asia’s rising debt levels and sizable hidden liabilities. State-owned enterprises, state-owned commercial banks, and public-private partnerships have been at the center of the rising debt wave and the latest …
This policy paper catalogues tools and techniques used by public actors such as national development banks and green investment banks to mitigate project-level risks and attract private investment in infrastructure. The paper updates the dataset underlying the 2018 "Progress Update on Approaches to Mobilising Institutional Investment for Sustainable Infrastructure", to …
In chapters 1 and 2, the report first reviews the current state of the clean-cooking market in Bangladesh, covering a variety of fuels and technologies based on the significance of market penetration in Bangladeshi households, including natural gas, LPG and Improved Cookstoves (ICSs). Other solutions discussed in the report include …
In order for development finance institutions, including multilateral development banks and bilateral, regional and national development banks to “align” themselves with the Paris Agreement, they must make sure that their activities conducted through financial intermediaries are also aligned. It is important for intermediated finance to align with overall temperature and …
The Climate Change Action Plan 2021–2025 aims to advance the climate change aspects of the WBG’s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) approach, which pursues poverty eradication and shared prosperity with a sustainability lens. In the Action Plan, we will support countries and private sector clients to maximize the impact …
Global flows of foreign direct investment have been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, they fell by one third to $1 trillion, well below the low point reached after the global financial crisis a decade ago. Greenfield investments in industry and new infrastructure investment projects in developing countries …
This paper provides an evaluation of the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on least developed countries (LDCs) in Asia and the Pacific. Drawing on analysis and estimates from various regional and national sources, this paper finds that these impacts are large relative to the number of COVID-19 …
Following the recent establishment of a Joint NGFS-INSPIRE Study Group on Biodiversity and Financial Stability by the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and INSPIRE, this vision paper sets out the rationale for the Study Group’s work, its initial agenda and its research focus. The aim of the Study …
This report released by REN21 Secretariat, shows that governments need to give a much harder push to renewables in all sectors, It advocates for the establishment of renewable shares as key performance indicators for both private and public decision-making processes as well as key measures for progress towards climate and …
In 2020 the Nigerian economy shrank by 1.8%, its deepest decline since 1983. The COVID-19 crisis drove the economic slowdown; the external context was marked by capital outflows, intensified risk aversion, low oil prices, and shrinking foreign remittances. The Nigeria Development Update Resilience through Reforms states that reforms implemented by …
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana had taken proactive measures to solidify its commitments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including financing the SDGs as a long-standing priority. In partnership with the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP), the Country Financing Roadmap (CFR) for SDGs initiative is …
The macro-financial transition risks that result from disorderly transitions to a carbon-free or low-carbon economy may entail significant costs due to the risk of stranded assets, defaults, collapse in stock market value, both for financial firms and non-financial firms. The effects of networks, contagion, and higher-round effects of stranding may …
There is increasing recognition that climate-related and environmental risks are a source of financial risks. Using publicly available data, this paper attempts a preliminary estimation of the physical and transition risks for the banking sector in a sample of economies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The results show that …
This special report aims to address the challenge of mobilising investment and finance to support clean energy transitions in the emerging and developing world. This is based on detailed analysis of successful projects and initiatives, including almost 50 real-world case studies – across clean power, efficiency and electrification, as well …
The introduction of derivatives to India’s short-term power market will make it easier for renewable project developers to enter into offtake arrangements with state-owned distribution companies (discoms), finds a new briefing note from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The world economy is experiencing a very strong but uneven recovery, with many emerging market and developing economies facing obstacles to vaccination. The global outlook remains uncertain, with major risks around the path of the pandemic and the possibility of financial stress amid large debt loads. Policy makers face a …
