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 …
The Yearbook series is a result of joint efforts by major African regional organizations to set up a joint data collection mechanism of socioeconomic data on African countries as well as the development of a common harmonized database. The Joint African Statistical Yearbook is meant to break with the practices …
This report focuses on the risk manager and insurer roles of the insurance industry. Over the past year, 22 leading insurers and reinsurers have collaborated under the auspices of UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI) to pilot methodologies that insurers can use to implement the recommendations …
This report analyzes four core areas of corporate governance in South Asia in light of global trends and best practices. It assesses the necessary regulatory preconditions for strong financial and economic development. The four core areas analyzed are (i) corporate governance legal frameworks, (ii) board structure and board diversity, (iii) …
This report, the first in a series, examines in detail the intertwined effects of the pandemic and climate change, and analyzes how these affect the prospects and ability of countries to recover better. In particular, the report highlights how smart adaptation strategies can contribute to better health outcomes, environmental benefits, …
This working paper examines the existing literature on locally led adaptation, looking at efforts that have optimized finance through direct and consistent collaboration with local actors and identifying initiatives that embody locally led principles rather than traditional stakeholder consultation or participation. In line with the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Year …
Locally led adaptation recognizes that people closest to the effects of climate change, especially those facing structural marginalization, require the financing and decision-making power to ensure that adaptation investments reflect their priorities. Supporters of locally led adaptation can leverage monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) processes to balance power, promote mutual …
India’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has advanced rapidly in the past few years. A supportive policy environment, improving economics, and emerging business models have poised the EV market for significant growth in the coming decade. Key barriers related to EV adoption—including technology cost, infrastructure availability, and consumer behavior—must be …
Identifying and evaluating climate expenditures in the public sector, known as budget tagging, has generated increasing attention from multiple stakeholders, not only to assess the government’s climate change policy, but also to monitor fiscal risks associated with increasing and unpredictable climate change impacts. This paper explores the issues raised by …
Cities and urban communities are highly vulnerable to climate change risks. The IPCC warns that projected climate change will result in significant urban climate risks including amplified heat waves, extreme weather volatility, floods, droughts, coastal inundation, and an increase in vector borne diseases (IPCC, 2014). CDP data indicates that in …
Delhi Statistical Hand Book-2020 is the 45th issue being published by Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. This publication contains data relating to various Socio-economic parameters in respect of NCT of Delhi. Data is presented under 23 broad chapters.
To meet global restoration needs and recover degraded forests and landscapes, adequate public and private investments are required to support restoration activities on the ground. The new FAO publication “Local financing mechanisms for forest and landscape restoration: A review of local level investment mechanisms” examines the pathways available to financing …
In order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, it is essential to rapidly move from a zero-sum offsetting approach towards rapid transitions to decarbonise all emitting sectors. Though originally developed for offsetting, using aspects of carbon market mechanisms to deliver results-based finance can have an important role in …
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched its flagship Economic Report on Africa (ERA), empowering the continental private sector to thrive and drive economic growth and recovery. The report titled: “Innovative Finance for Private Sector Development in Africa,” looks at innovative financing as a way of providing solutions to the …
In order to alleviate the economic and social consequences of COVID-19, several public and private entities have announced economic stimulus packages: national governments have proposed fiscal and monetary stimulus; multilateral development banks (MDBs) and climate funds have announced recovery funds to assist developing countries and emerging economies; and a number …
Improving Tracking of High-GHG Finance in the Power Sector investigates methods and available data for tracking high GHG emissions finance at the project level. It brings together the best of these to present, for the first-time, granular information on financing sources, instruments, destinations, and technology uses for high-emissions power plant …
The first joint report on the Multilateral Development Banks contributions to the SDGs. The start of a “Decade of Action” to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has coincided with the COVID‑19 pandemic, raising deep questions about prospects for achieving this ambitious agenda. This joint report showcases …
Paris Misaligned: An Assessment of Global Power Sector Investment presents the results from applying this methodology to best available data for the global power and U.S. transport sectors for the year 2018; discusses the implications of these results for the power sector; and outlines possible solutions to be undertaken by …
A Proposed Method for Measuring Paris Alignment of New Investment outlines a science-based methodology for understanding how new investment tracks to IEA global warming scenarios and emissions budgets. This methodology attempts to arm policymakers and investors with a new methodology for understanding whether new investment is contributing sufficiently to 2030 …
Asia and Pacific countries have made major commitments to implement the UN’s Paris Agreement of 2015, in particular through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). ESCAP, UNEP and Greenwerk have just released preliminary findings of the assessment of progress of NDC implementation in Asia-Pacific which provides a methodology for understanding the ambition …
Brazil is a key player in global food supply, ecosystem services, and biodiversity conservation. The country is the globe’s third-largest agricultural producer and its largest net exporter of food (FAO, 2016). Tailored policies in financial services can contribute to modernizing and intensifying agriculture, leading to a more effective management of …
