Topic: development

ADVISORY: WRI and IMF to Host Major Speech by Lord Stern

Lauren Zelin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:18:00 -0400

“Fostering Growth and Poverty Reduction in a World of Immense Risk”

Live webcast, video, and PowerPoint presentation available at bit.ly/sterndc

In the six turbulent years after the ground-breaking Stern Review, the risks of unmanaged climate change are substantially higher. On Tuesday, April 2, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Resources Institute (WRI) will co-host a major speech by Lord Nicholas Stern analyzing how the risks have changed, and arguing that the transition to the low-carbon economy is an opportunity for growth and poverty reduction.

Lord Stern will be introduced by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, IMF, with commentary by Dr. Andrew Steer, President, WRI. Closing remarks will be delivered by Rachel Kyte, Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank.

This event will include an interactive discussion and is open to the media.

WHAT:
Address by Lord Nicholas Stern on “Fostering Growth and Reducing Poverty in a World of Immense Risk” co-hosted by IMF and WRI.

WHO:
Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair, Grantham Research Institute
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, IMF
Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, WRI
Rachel Kyte,Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank

WHEN:
Tuesday, April 2, 2013

TIME:
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Note: Guests should arrive 15 minutes early to register; Photo ID required

WHERE:
IMF Headquarters
Building 2, Conference Hall 1
1900 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Please use #sterndc to tweet about this event. We will take questions via Twitter.

RESOURCES
Live webcast, video, and PowerPoint presentation available at bit.ly/sterndc

RSVP required to press@wri.org

Emerging Actors in Development Finance with Potential Social and Environmental Risks: China & Brazil

Christine Potochny — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:00:24 -0500

WRI’s work on emerging actors in development finance is led by the International Financial Flows and the Environment (IFFE) team.

The goal of this research is to improve the environmental, social, and climate change policies that govern emerging actors’ investments, and to ensure that local communities and civil society organizations impacted by the investments are able to engage with “emerging actors” more effectively. This preliminary research focuses on Chinese and Brazilian overseas investments and begins to look at the growth drivers and geographic trends of those investments.

A Changing Global Landscape

The landscape of development finance is rapidly changing. In the last decade, major emerging economies such as China and Brazil have been fueling a growing trend of South-South flows by increasingly channeling their overseas investments to other developing countries.

By taking this new approach, China and Brazil are surfacing as major international investors, their activities driven by financial institutions such as:

the Export-Import Bank of China (China ExIm),
the China Development Bank (CDB), and
the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).

Other commercial banks and state-owned and private enterprises also have roles to play in this process. These “emerging actors” finance and invest in major initiatives designed to open new markets and to forge strategic relationships.

Many of these investments comprise small and medium size projects developed by private SMEs. Others constitute large-scale, high impact projects requiring access to and management of natural resources. The projects are reshaping the relationship between investors and recipient countries, as well as posing new opportunities for environmental and social sustainability initiatives.

Research Focus

Our work focuses on exploring questions such as:

How are Chinese and Brazilian overseas investments impacting development finance and the environment?
What unique characteristics do China and Brazil display in their approach to environmental and social sustainability?
What opportunities can be created for both investor and host countries?
How should the environmental and social risks of increasing OFDI be managed?

Strategy: Three Elements

Investor Country (China & Brazil Strategy)	Engage governmental organizations to develop environmental and social guidelines to govern overseas investments.
	Engage companies and financial institutions to develop and implement environmental and social risk management policies.
	Build the capacity of local civil society organizations to promote stronger environmental and social guidelines.
International Strategy	Study on coherence of international trade and financial treaties and multiple environmental agreements.
International Strategy	Enhance the role of emerging actors in international and bilateral investment standard setting.
Host Country Strategy	Work with host country governments, business partners of emerging economy investements and local civil society organizations to facilitate stronger environmental and social performance among foreign companies.

Building on WRI’s record of independent research, our experience in convening a wide range of local and international stakeholders, and our close partnerships with organizations in China, Brazil, and multiple host countries in Africa and Asia, as well as international organizations, the International Financial Flows and the Environment (IFFE) supports efforts by investors, host countries, and international actors to move towards environmentally and socially sustainable development that benefits all parties.

A Closer Look at China’s Overseas Investment

China is surfacing as a major international investor through nationally owned financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank.

These Chinese “emerging actors” are financing major initiatives to acquire natural resources, open markets, and forge strategic political ties. They are increasingly financing large-scale, high impact projects beyond their borders — such as hydropower plants and gas pipelines — which may pose new challenges for environmental and social sustainability.

How do we ensure that Chinese investments abroad align with sustainability objectives by observing high environmental and social standards?

The following presentation - Emerging Actors in Development Finance: A Closer Look at China’s Overseas Investment - begins to look at the growth drivers and geographic trends of Chinese overseas investments.

This collection of figures and charts is based on preliminary research conducted by a team of Chinese scholars and compiled and edited by Bruce Jenkins, WRI consultant, and Xiaomei Tan, WRI Senior Associate. The scoping research concluded in April 2011 and includes data from various sources that are updated frequently. Tao Hu, WRI Senior Associate and Yingzhen Zhao, WRI Research Assistant continued this research, revised and updated the slide deck in August 2012. The data is circulated to stimulate timely discussion and critical feedback and to influence ongoing debate on emerging issues. WRI will continue to update the data as our research moves forward.

A Closer Look at Brazil’s Overseas Investment

From 2001 to 2011, Brazil’s per capita GDP more than tripled. At the heart of this domestic economic boom is the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES).

How do we ensure that Brazil’s investments abroad align with sustainability objectives by observing high social and environmental standards?

This presentation - Emerging Actors in Development Finance: A Closer Look at Brazil’s Growth, Influence, and the Role of BNDES - begins to look at growth drivers and trends of Brazil’s overseas investments.

Credits: Roland Widmer, Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros, Catarina Freitas, Tao Hu and Yingzhen Zhao of WRI’s International Financial Flows and the Environment Project (IFFE) and Xiaomei Tan of WRI China. An earlier version of this slide deck was prepared with the help of Bruce Jenkins, Kirk Herbertson, Alisa Zomer and Catarina Freitas.

Global Coal Risk Assessment: Data Analysis and Market Research

Sarah Parsons — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:42:09 -0500

Key Findings

According to IEA estimates, global coal consumption reached 7,238 million tonnes in 2010. China accounted for 46 percent of consumption, followed by the United States (13 percent), and India (9 percent).
According to WRI’s estimates, 1,199 new coal-fired plants, with a total installed capacity of 1,401,278 megawatts (MW), are being proposed globally. These projects are spread across 59 countries. China and India together account for 76 percent of the proposed new coal power capacities.
New coal-fired plants have been proposed in 10 developing countries: Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Laos, Morocco, Namibia, Oman, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan. Currently, there is limited or no capacity for domestic coal production in any of these countries.
Our analysis found that 483 power companies have proposed new coal-fired plants. With 66 proposed projects, Huaneng (Chinese) has proposed the most, followed by Guodian (Chinese), and NTPC (Indian).
The “Big Five” Chinese power companies (Datang, Huaneng, Guodian, Huadian, and China Power Investment) are the world’s biggest coal-fired power producers, and are among the top developers of proposed new coal-fired plants.
State-owned power companies play a dominant role in proposing new coal-fired plant projects in China, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa, Czech Republic and many other countries.
Chinese, German, and Indian power companies are notably increasingly active in transnational coal-fired project development.
According to IEA estimates, the global coal trade rose by 13.4 percent in 2010, reaching 1,083 million tonnes.
The demands of the global coal trade have shifted from the Atlantic market (driven by Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the United States) to the Pacific market (driven by Japan, China, South Korea, India and Taiwan). In response to this trend, many new infrastructure development projects have been proposed.
Motivated by the growing Pacific market, Australia is proposing to increase new mine and new port capacity up to 900 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) — three times its current coal export capacity.

STATEMENT: Development Banks Announce "Game Changer" for Sustainable Transport at Rio+20

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 23:38:38 -0400

The world’s largest multi-lateral development banks — led by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and others — committed to provide more than $175 billion over 10 years to support sustainable transport in developing countries.

The announcement was made at the UN Sustainable Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro (Rio+20) by the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, CAF- Development Bank of Latin America, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and the World Bank.

Following is a statement from Holger Dalkmann, director of EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute’s center for sustainable transport:

“This is a game changer for sustainable transport. It will ensure that hundreds of millions of people will have cleaner air, less congested roads, and safer transportation.

“Ten years ago transportation wasn’t even in the discussion; now it’s a major outcome from the world’s preeminent conference on sustainable development.

“Banks are putting their money where it matters — on streets built for people, not just cars. The world’s population is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050, with more than half living in Asia, mostly in urban areas. At the same time, the rate of vehicle ownership is predicted to skyrocket from around 800 million cars a decade ago to around 2 billion in 2030. These two mega-trends are coming together to create an environment where people must compete for financial, institutional, and physical resources. In response, we need better urban designs; more sustainable transportation modes, like walking, biking and mass transit; and improvements in existing vehicle and fuel technology.

“This investment is not just about improving the way people move from point A to point B; it’s also about providing access and mobility for the poor and improving road safety, not to mention reducing transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Transport is no small piece of the climate change pie: the sector represents approximately one-quarter of global CO2 emissions.

“Today’s announcement will no doubt encourage other decision-makers, especially national governments, to consider financing transport projects based on social and environmental benefits. It will push sustainability into the core of urban development.

“At the same time, we need to make sure that the money gets invested into the right kind of projects, and that there are sound mechanisms to measure its impact. This will require full transparency and independent monitoring.

“Countries often invest in transportation and infrastructure, but much of that goes into highways. We need to be smarter about where money flows, whether that means creating vibrant public spaces, providing safer infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, or building high-tech, low-cost transit systems. Doing this would be a paradigm shift in the way we finance the growth of sustainable cities, similar to what the Asian Development Bank has done with its Sustainable Transport Initiative, a lending and technical assistance program for transport projects in Asia and the Pacific that emphasizes inclusive economic and environmentally sustainable growth.

“EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute’s center for sustainable transport, is a founding member of the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport, which helped to catalyze this new financial commitment by the banks.

“Years from now, we may look back at Rio+20 as the moment when transport was pushed to the top of the sustainability agenda.”

-ENDS-

For more information on EMBARQ, visit: www.embarq.org.

Note: To schedule an interview, contact: Michael Oko, moko@wri.org.

Rio+20: Uma oportunidade para acelerar a transição para a economia verde e tirar milhões de pessoas da pobreza

James Anderson — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:34:29 -0400

O novo relatório apresenta políticas-chave e constrói os alicerces para aumentar a prosperidade, reduzir a pobreza e apoiar a sustentabilidade ambiental.

Read text in English here

Uma transição à economia verde poderia retirar milhões de pessoas da pobreza e mudar o sustento de muitas das 1,3 bilhões de pessoas que ganham apenas USD 1,25 por dia no mundo inteiro, mas somente quando a transição tiver como base políticas fortes e investimentos dos setores público e privado.

Estes foram os resultados de um novo relatório, Construindo uma Economia Verde Inclusiva para Todos, lançado hoje na reunião de cúpula da Rio+20 pela Parceria Pobreza e Ambiente (PEP, da sigla em inglês) - uma rede bilateral de agências de suporte, bancos de desenvolvimento, agências da ONU e ONGs internacionais. O relatório aponta que muitos países em desenvolvimento e países menos desenvolvidos já estão buscando fazer uma transição para economias de baixa emissão de carbono e que sejam eficientes em seu uso de recursos.

De acordo com o relatório, o aumento significativo dos exemplos atuais postos em prática da economia verde, especialmente nos países em desenvolvimento, tem o potencial de gerar resultados tripartidos: um crescimento econômico criador de empregos, sustentabilidade ambiental e inclusão social.

Porém, os investimentos específicos e as reformas na governança são necessários para superar as barreiras atuais que previnem que muitas comunidades carentes se beneficiem de uma economia verde.

Read Building an Inclusive Green Economy for All

O novo relatório demonstra que muitos dos Países Menos Desenvolvidos, assim como muitas regiões pobres dos países com renda média, na verdade possuem alto grau de recursos naturais, que os permitem construir uma economia verde que possa reduzir a pobreza de uma forma sustentável.

“Muitos dos países menos desenvolvidos e dos países em desenvolvimento e das comunidades estão aproveitando a oportunidade para aproximar economia e ecologia para que possam gerar resultados sociais transformacionais”, diz Achin Steiner, Subsecretário Geral e Diretor Executivo do Programa das Nações Unidas para o Ambiente (PNUMA), um membro da PEP, no lançamento do relatório no Rio de Janeiro.

“O desafio para os líderes mundiais se reunindo aqui na Rio+20 é gerar e dar apoio às políticas possibilitadoras e aos pacotes catalisadores financeiros e de proteção social de forma que possa apressar estas ambições e aumentá-las exponencialmente.”

O relatório discute que um grande número de países menos desenvolvidos e das regiões pobres dos países com renda média, na verdade possuem alto grau de recursos naturais, os quais são necessários para dar sustentação à transição a economia verde como uma passagem em direção ao desenvolvimento sustentável.

“Ao abraçar uma economia verde inclusiva, os líderes na Rio têm uma oportunidade rara de melhorar as vidas de milhões de pessoas e abrir as portas a uma nova era de sustentabilidade”, diz Manish Bapna, Presidente em exercício do Instituto de Recursos Mundiais, que coordenou o estudo.

“A mudança para uma economia verde inclusiva não acontecerá por si própria. São necessárias políticas governamentais inteligentes e uma liderança forte. Este relatório apresenta uma visão ousada para uma economia verde que pode lidar com a pobreza e a desigualdade, e mais importante ele oferece alicerces práticos e concretos para a realização dessa transição.”

O relatório cita muitos exemplos fortes de países em desenvolvimento que estão mudando para uma economia verde de forma bem-sucedida. Por exemplo:

A Etiópia está desenvolvendo seis projetos de energia eólica e um projeto geotérmico, os quais aumentarão a capacidade do país em mais de 1.000 megawatts.
A Mongólia atualmente está construindo seu primeiro parque eólico de 50 megawatt, e este deve gerar um valor estimado de 5% da energia necessária pelo país, enquanto que vai reduzir a poluição do ar, que está relacionada com a geração de energia causada pela queima de carvão. A Mongólia tem o potencial de agir como uma “super rede” na região, fornecendo energia limpa para os países vizinhos.
No Uganda, a promoção da agricultura orgânica está ajudando dezenas de milhares de fazendeiros a ganharem até 300% a mais nas produções certificadas de abacaxi, gengibre, baunilha e outros produtos para exportação. Mundialmente, o mercado para os produtos orgânicos triplicou desde 2000.

A nível internacional, o desenvolvimento da Redução de Emissões por Desmatamento e Degradação de Florestas(REED ou REED+ das siglas em inglês), também oferece o potencial para a erradicação da pobreza, se acompanhada por salvaguardas sociais rigorosas, especialmente para a população indígena local. Por exemplo, a Noruega investiu USD 1 milhão na REED na Indonésia, o que gerou um ano de moratória na derrubada de árvores em Kalimantan, o que tem o potencial de salvaguardar 45% das florestas da província, ao passo que fornece novas oportunidades de sustento e renda para a população local.

Muitos países de renda baixa ou média são ricos em recursos para ecoturismo, um setor que tem a projeção de gerar uma receita de USD 240 bilhões em 2012. Uma grande parte desse crescimento se encontra nos países em desenvolvimento tão variados como Botsuana, Belize, Brasil, Costa Rica, Gabão, Quênia e Nepal.

Os países menos desenvolvidos, com a infraestrutura menos desenvolvida, especialmente nas áreas urbanas, podem se beneficiar da economia verde inclusiva com as políticas possibilitadoras corretas e investimentos internacionais específicos em áreas de eficiência energética e tecnologias limpas para os modernos sistemas de transporte público.

Tais esforços também servem para aumentar a criação de empregos decentes verdes. Em Lagos, na Nigéria, as parcerias públicas e privadas voltadas à melhoria da infraestrutura da cidade, reduzem o congestionamento, melhoram as condições nas favelas e ajudam a criar cerca de 4.000 empregos, relacionados ao meio ambiente, para a comunidade jovem desempregada.

Com relação à saúde, os fatores de riscos ambientais são as causas de cerca de um quinto de todas as doenças nos países em desenvolvimento, e correspondem a uma grande proporção das mortes infantis.

Muitos investimentos na economia verde têm o potencial para fornecer benefícios significativos para a saúde humana. Por exemplo, o apoio aos combustíveis e veículos limpos diminuirá as emissões de gases do efeito estufa e reduzirá as doenças respiratórias. Da mesma forma, o investimento em uma energia mais limpa para o uso doméstico nos países em desenvolvimento, tais como através de fogões mais eficientes, pode reduzir a dependência da madeira como combustível e lidar com o desmatamento e ainda limitar a exposição à poluição interna do ar.

O relatório enfoca que o setor privado, incluindo as grandes multinacionais e pequenas e médias empresas, junto com as organizações não governamentais têm também um papel-chave como possibilitadores.

Por exemplo:

A Unilever está trabalhando na África Ocidental com 10.500 pequenos fazendeiros para promover as árvores allanblackia, que produz sementes ricas em óleo que é usado em margarinas sob as marcas Flora e Bercel.
No Brasil, a empresa de cosméticos Natura criou parcerias com 26 comunidades para fornecer novos cosméticos, fragrâncias e outros produtos sob um programa de compartilhamento de benefícios, que apoia os princípios do PNUMA relacionados à Convenção sobre Diversidade Biológica.
Jain, um sistema de irrigação localizado na Índia, fabrica sistemas de irrigação baseados no gotejamento e na aspersão, enquanto gera mercados para os produtos dos fazendeiros. Fazendeiros em partes da Índia tiveram um aumento de renda líquida de USD 100 para USD 1.000 por hectare como resultado da adoção de tais sistemas e também reduziram o consumo de água e os impactos ambientais.

“Existe uma grande evidência de que a transição para uma economia verde com baixa emissão de carbono e que seja eficiente em seu uso de recursos pode beneficiar muito a comunidade carente e ao mesmo tempo ajudar a preservar os serviços ecossistêmicos vitais”, disse Johan Kuylenstierna, Diretor Executivo do Instituto Ambiental de Estocolmo, membro PEP e co-autor do relatório.

“O desafio para a Rio+20 é criar compromissos fortes que assegurarão que a economia verde possa crescer e dar frutos, com o apoio dos setores público e privado. Também precisamos adotar políticas para proteger os vulneraveis enquanto as economias dos países fazem a transição, e assegurar que os benefícios da economia verde sejam distribuídos de uma forma justa e igualitária”.

“Na região da Ásia-Pacífico, o investimento paralelo na infraestrutura sustentável inclusiva e no gerenciamento sustentável dos ecossistemas críticos para o desenvolvimento econômico futuro pode causar um impacto enorme no bem-estar da população carente - tanto nas zonas urbana e rural”, disse Bindu N. Lohani, Vice-presidente da Gestão de Conhecimento e Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Bando de Desenvolvimento Asiático.

“As instituições regionais devem galvanizar os esforços governamentais para criar as políticas possibilitadoras certas e canalizar os recursos financeiros para um crescimento verde inclusivo, um tipo de crescimento que beneficia os países em desenvolvimento e os membros carentes das suas populações.”

O relatório apela para que os delegados na reunião de cúpula da Rio+20 considerem os “cinco fatores críticos para a construção dos alicerces em direção a economia verde inclusiva”. Estes podem maximizar os benefícios da economia verde para a população carente e promover uma agenda política compartilhada entre os governos dos países em desenvolvimento, os parceiros nos países desenvolvidos e outras partes interessadas.

Políticas sociais econômicas nacionais: Políticas fiscais, regimes tributários e políticas verdes de proteção social e programas que possam fortalecer a transição dos carentes;
Direitos e capacitações locais: Garantir que a população carente tenha direitos e posse sobre os seus recursos naturais, apoiados por meios e incentivos para gerenciar de forma sustentável e gerar benefícios para si próprios;
Mercados verdes inclusivos: São necessários novos modelos de negócios para construir e expandir o acesso da comunidade carente aos mercados inclusivos e redes de fornecimento para os produtos e serviços verdes, junto com o acesso ao microcrédito e serviços de desenvolvimento de negócios para empresas de pequeno e médio porte;
Políticas e suporte a uma harmonização internacional: Os países com maior renda precisam fornecer ajuda coerente, comércio e outras políticas de suporte para possibilitar que os países de baixa renda possam ser bem-sucedidos na transição para a economia verde, e;
Novos parâmetros para medir progresso: Ir além da limitação do PIB, para um indicador mais abrangente de progresso socioeconômico, social, ambiental e de bem-estar humano: esta é uma questão-chave na mesa de discussão da Rio+20.

Nota as editores:

Construindo uma Economia Verde Inclusiva para Todos: Oportunidades e Desafios para Superarmos a Pobreza e Desigualdade será lançado às 13:00 no dia 14 de junho na Sala de Imprensa no Rio Centro.

O relatório completo está disponível no site www.povertyenvironment.net/pep

A publicação foi elaborada pela equipe do Bando de Desenvolvimento Asiático, AusAid Austrália, Ministério dos Assuntos Exteriores da Finlandia, Agência para Cooperação Internacional, Alemanha (GIZ da sigla em alemão), Instituto Internacional para o Meio ambiente e Desenvolvimento, a União Nacional para Conservação da natureza, a Organização para Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico, Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento, Programa das Nações Unidas para o Meio Ambiente, Banco Mundial, Conselho Mundial de Negócios para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável e Instituto de Recursos Mundiais;

A publicação informativa do PNUMA sobre a economia verde e a redução da pobreza está disponível em: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/Portals/88/POVERTY_REDUCTIO...

Para maiores informações, por favor entre em contato:

Nick Nuttall, Porta-voz do PNUMA; Tel: +55 11 6593 8058 or +254 733 632755, e-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org

Michael Oko, Diretor de Comunicações, Instituto de Recursos Mundiais, Tel + (202) 246-9269, e-mail: moko@wri.org

PRESS RELEASE: Rio+20: Opportunity to Fast Track Transition to Green Economy, Lift Millions Out of Poverty

James Anderson — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:23:35 -0400

New Report Presents Key Policies and Building Blocks to Unlock Prosperity, Reduce Poverty and Support Environmental Sustainability

Ver texto em Português

A transition to a green economy could lift millions of people out of poverty and transform the livelihoods of many of the 1.3 billion people earning just a US$1.25 a day around the world, but only when supported by strong policies and public- and private-sector investments.

These are the findings of a new report, Building an Inclusive Green Economy for All, launched today at the Rio+20 summit by the Poverty-Environment Partnership (PEP), a network of bilateral aid agencies, development banks, UN agencies and international NGOs. The report finds that many developing and least developed countries are already pursuing a transition towards low-carbon, resource efficient economies.

Scaling-up current examples of the green economy in action – particularly in developing countries - has the potential to deliver a ‘triple bottom line’ of job-creating economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion, says the report.

But targeted investments and governance reforms are needed to overcome current barriers that are preventing many poor communities from fully benefiting from a green economy.

Read Building an Inclusive Green Economy for All

The new report finds that many Least Developed Countries, as well as many poor regions of middle income countries, are actually richly endowed with the natural resources that would allow them to build green economies that can sustainably reduce poverty.

“Many least developed and developing countries and communities are seizing the opportunity to bring economy and ecology together in order to generate transformational social outcomes,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), a PEP member, at the launch of the report in Rio de Janeiro.

“The challenge for world leaders meeting here at Rio+20 is to forge and to back the enabling policies, catalytic financing, and social protection packages in order to fast forward these ambitions and to take them to scale.”

The new report argues that large numbers of least developed countries and poor regions of middle income countries are actually richly endowed with the natural resources needed to underpin a green economy transition as a pathway towards realizing sustainable development.

“By embracing an inclusive green economy, leaders in Rio have a rare opportunity to improve the lives of millions of people and usher in a new era of sustainability,” said Manish Bapna, Acting President of the World Resources Institute, which co-ordinated the study.

“Shifting to an inclusive green economy will not happen on its own. It requires smart government policies and strong leadership. This report presents a bold vision for a green economy that can tackle poverty and inequality, and, importantly, it offers concrete and practical building blocks to make this transition.”

The report cites many strong examples of developing countries that are already successfully shifting to a green economy. For example:

Ethiopia is developing six wind energy projects and a geothermal project, which will increase the country’s capacity by over 1,000 megawatts.
Mongolia’s first 50 megawatt wind farm is currently under construction and is set to generate an estimated five per cent of the county’s electricity needs, while reducing air pollution linked with coal-fired generation. Mongolia has the potential to act as a “supergrid” in the region, supplying neighbouring countries with clean energy.
In Uganda, the promotion of organic agriculture is helping tens of thousands of farmers to earn up to 300 percent more from certified pineapple, ginger, vanilla and other exports. Globally, the market for organic food products has increased three-fold since 2000.

On the international level, the development of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD or REDD+) also offers potential for poverty eradication if accompanied by rigorous social safeguards especially for local and indigenous people. For example, in Indonesia, a US $1 billion REDD+ investment by Norway has led to a one year moratorium on logging in Kalimantan, has the potential to safeguard 45 per cent of the province’s forests, while providing new livelihood and income opportunities for local people.

Many low and middle-income countries are rich in resources for ecotourism; a sector that is projected to generate revenues of US $240 billion in 2012. Much of this growth is in developing countries as diverse as Botswana, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Gabon, Kenya and Nepal.

Least developed countries with less developed infrastructure, particularly in urban areas, can benefit from an inclusive green economy with the right enabling policies and targeted international investments in areas from energy efficiency and clean technologies to modern public transportation systems.

Such efforts can also serve to boost the creation of decent, green jobs. In Lagos, Nigeria, public-private partnerships to improve the city’s infrastructure, reduce congestion and upgrade slums have helped create around 4,000 environment-related jobs among unemployed youth.

Regarding health, environmental risk factors are the cause of around one-fifth of the total disease burden in developing countries, and a large proportion of childhood deaths.

Many green economy investments have the potential to deliver significant benefits for human health. For example, supporting clean fuels and vehicles will lower greenhouse gas emissions, while also reducing respiratory diseases. Similarly, investing in cleaner energy for households in developing countries, such as through more efficient cookstoves, can reduce dependency on wood fuel and tackle deforestation, while limiting exposure to indoor air pollution.

The report underlines that the private sector, including large multinationals and small- and medium-sized enterprises, along with non-governmental organizations have a key enabling role too.

For example:

Unilever is working in West Africa with 10,500 small-scale farmers to promote allanblackia trees, which produce seeds rich in oil for use in spreads under the brand names Flora and Bercel
In Brazil, the cosmetics company Natura has forged partnerships with 26 communities to source new cosmetics, fragrances, and other products under a benefit sharing project that supports the principles of the UNEP-linked Convention on Biological Diversity
The Indian-based Jain Irrigation System makes drip and sprinkler irrigation systems while providing markets for farmers’ produce. Farmers in parts of India have seen net incomes rise by US $100 to $1,000 a hectare as a result of adopting such systems while also reducing water use and environmental impacts.

“There is strong evidence that a transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient green economy could hugely benefit the poor while helping preserve vital ecosystem services,” said Johan Kuylenstierna, executive director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, a PEP member and co-author of the report.

“The challenge at Rio+20 is to make strong international commitments that will ensure the green economy can grow and flourish, with both public- and private-sector support. We also need to adopt policies to protect the vulnerable as their economies make this transition, and to ensure that the benefits of the green economy are fairly and equitably distributed.”

“In the Asia-Pacific region, the twin tracks of investing in sustainable inclusive infrastructure and the sustainable management of critical ecosystems to support future economic development can make a huge impact on the welfare of the poor – in both urban and rural settings,” said Bindu N. Lohani, Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Asian Development Bank.

“Regional institutions must galvanize efforts by governments to create the right enabling policies and channel financial resources into inclusive green growth - the kind of growth that benefits the developing countries and the poorer members of their populations.”

The report calls on delegates meeting for the Rio+20 Summit to consider “five critical building blocks” towards an inclusive green economy. These can maximize the benefits for the poor of a green economy, and foster a shared policy agenda between developing country governments, developed country partners and other stakeholders.

National Economic and Social Policies: Fiscal policies, tax regimes, and ‘green’ social protection policies and programmes can strengthen a pro-poor transition;
Local Rights and Capacities: Ensuring poor people have rights and tenure over their natural resources backed by the means and the incentives to sustainably manage and benefit from them;
Inclusive Green Markets: New business models are needed to build and expand the poor’s access to inclusive markets and supply chains for green products and services, together with access to micro-credit and business development services for small and medium-scale enterprises;
Harmonized International Policies and Support: Higher-income countries need to provide coherent aid, trade and other policies to enable low-income countries to succeed in a green economy transition; and
New Metrics for Measuring Progress: Going beyond the narrowness of GDP to a broader indicator of economic, social and environmental progress and human well-being: this is a key issue on the table at Rio+20.

Note to Editors:

Building An Inclusive Green Economy For All: Opportunities and Challenges for Overcoming Poverty and Inequality will be launched at 1pm on 14 June at the Press Centre at Rio Centro.

The full report is available on WRI’s site, or here: www.povertyenvironment.net/pep

A UNEP Briefing Paper on the green economy and poverty reduction is available at:

http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/Portals/88/POVERTY_REDUCTION.pdf

The publication has been prepared by staff from Asian Development Bank, Australia (AusAid); Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Germany’s GIZ; the International Institute for Environment and Development; the International Union for the Conservation of Nature; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; the UN Development Programme; the UN Environment Programme; the World Bank; the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute.

UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 (Rio+20): http://www.uncsd2012.org/

For more information please contact:

Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson; Tel: +55 11 6593 8058 or +254 733 632755, E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org

Michael Oko, Media Director, World Resources Institute, Tel + (202) 246-9269; email: moko@wri.org

MEDIA ADVISORY: Hope or Hype? WRI Experts Host Press Call on Rio+20 Summit

James Anderson — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:28:05 -0400

As leaders in government, business and civil society prepare to head to Rio de Janeiro for the UN Sustainable Development Summit, known as Rio+20, experts from the World Resources Institute will host a press call to discuss issues and expectations for the meeting.

WRI experts will discuss issues, including the green economy, governance, climate change, role of business, and more. WRI will provide an update on the state of play and on possible outcomes for the global summit.

Listen to the audio recording of WRI’s press call below:

WHAT:

Press call to discuss expectations for the Rio+20 Summit.

WHO:

Manish Bapna, Interim President, WRI

Craig Hanson, Director, People & Ecosystems Program, WRI

Lalanath de Silva, Director, The Access Initiative

Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate & Energy Program, WRI

Followed by a Q&A session

WHEN:

Tuesday, May 22, 10:00a.m. EDT // 11:00a.m. BRT

CALL-IN:

United States (Toll free): (866) 803-2143

Brazil (Toll Free): 0800-8911992

Other international locations (Toll): +1 (210)795-1098

Passcode: Callers should ask for “RIO”

You can read more about WRI’s work at Rio +20 at: http://insights.wri.org/topic/rio20.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Michael Oko: Tel. + 1 (202) 729-7684; email: moko@wri.org; or

James Anderson: Tel. +1 (202) 729 7608; email: JAnderson@wri.org

ADVISORY: Transforming Transportation Event: Scaling Up Sustainable Transport Solutions Worldwide

Lauren Zelin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:36:04 -0500

The 9th annual Transforming Transportation conference will focus on big ideas to scale up sustainable transport in cities worldwide. Over two days, more than 300 global experts will reflect on past successes and ongoing challenges in sustainable transport and urban development, while exploring ways to scale up through innovation. Special attention will be given to financing from private sources, national government programs and international development agencies.

This year’s conference is organized by EMBARQ – the World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Institute for Transportation Development and Policy, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities, and the Partnership for Sustainable Low Carbon Transport.

View the full agenda online: http://www.transformingtransportation.org

KEY MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

Thursday, January 26, 9:30–10:30 a.m.
Keynote address by Jaime Lerner, former Mayor of Curitiba and former Governor of Parana State, Brazil, on the “Future of the City: Challenges of Scaling Up Good Practices in Urban Transport.”

Thursday, January 26, 10:30-11:00 a.m.
Media availability immediately following the keynote address with Jaime Lerner; Holger Dalkmann, Director, EMBARQ; and Jose Luis Irigoyen, Sector Director of Transport, Water and ICT, World Bank.

Friday, January 27, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Keynote address by Chris West, Director, Shell Foundation, on “Innovations in Scaling: What Lessons are Available for the Transport Sector?”

Followed by a panel discussion with Ashwin Mahesh, CEO, Mapunity; Kelly Larson, Program Manager, Bloomberg Philanthropies; and Alex Perera, Co-director, Business Engagement in Climate and Technology, World Resources Institute; moderated by Sommer Mathis, Editor, The Atlantic CITIES.

WHERE
The World Bank
Preston Auditorium
1818 H Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20433

Registration required: https://community.wri.org/NetCommunity/tt2012

# # #

For more information or to set up interviews contact:
Lauren Zelin, WRI, Senior Media Officer, (202) 729-7736, lzelin@wri.org
Erica Schlaikjer, EMBARQ, Media Relations Coordinator, (202) 729-7722, eschlaikjer@wri.org

Inside Stories on Climate Compatible Development: Niger

Kevin Lustig — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:42:26 -0500

Key messages

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration brings increased crop yields, income and food security to impoverished rural communities in Niger. It also holds climate change mitigation potential.
Honouring local wisdom is key to the success of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration – farmers can play a central role in experimenting, innovating, communicating potential benefits, and advocating behaviour change.
Winning the support of opinion leaders and authorities is important in tackling farmers’ initial resistance

Inside Stories on Climate Compatible Development: Zambia

Kevin Lustig — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:26:40 -0500

Key messages

Production of staple crops, such as maize, is under increasing risk in Africa because of climate change and depleting soil fertility. The potential consequences for food security are dire. Climate change and food security must be tackled together.
Modern methods of agroforestry and “conservation agriculture with trees” are employing age-old indigenous practices of natural fertilisation with dramatic effects. Field studies show that growing maize under “fertiliser trees” can more than triple the yields.
“Evergreen agriculture” practices (where trees are intercropped in annual food crop and livestock systems) help retain water in soils during droughts and prevent landslides and erosion during heavy rain, so reduce vulnerability to climate extremes.
The capacity for these practices to also retain and store carbon in soils means that the potential climate change mitigation benefits of wide-scale evergreen agriculture in Africa are large and globally significant – potentially up to 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide over 50 years.
The challenge of spreading the knowledge and uptake of evergreen agriculture and other “climate-smart” agriculture practices is being taken on as a priority by regional governance bodies in Africa.
Payments for ecosystem and social impact services may be one means to fund the practical on-farm research, testing and knowledge transfer needed for adoption on a wide scale. Carbon funds, from biocarbon projects, are one possible source of finance, but uptake is still at very low levels.
The costs of measurement, reporting and verification can be prohibitive and new methods are needed.
Supported NAMAs (nationally appropriate mitigation actions) programs of evergreen agriculture could be a new approach and play a key role in Africa low carbon development strategies.

Inside Stories on Climate Compatible Development

Kevin Lustig — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:11:27 -0500

Briefs in this series:

Inside Stories on Climate Compatible Development: Bangladesh

Kevin Lustig — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:49:28 -0500

Key messages

Bangladesh’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) is one of the most ambitious of its kind in a developing country.
Collaborative networks have enabled the CDMP to expand its operations.
Support from government leaders ensured that challenges to implementing the CDMP were overcome.
The institutionalisation of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation beyond the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management has proved slow and challenging.
Challenges to CDMP implementation included natural disasters, political unrest and turnover of high-level officials.

PRESS RELEASE: Caterpillar Foundation Awards Major Support to World Resources Institute for Sustainable Cities Initiative

Lauren Zelin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:53:20 -0500

Five-Year Pledge of $12.5 Million Will Focus on Key Urban Centers in China, India and Brazil

The Caterpillar Foundation today announced a five-year, $12.5 million grant to the World Resources Institute (WRI) to advance the progress of environmentally sustainable and livable cities in China, India, and Brazil.

WRI intends to develop low-carbon city models and pathways for environmentally sustainable urbanization (ESU), and to promote the diffusion of environmentally smart and livable cities. WRI will partner with up to five urban centers to demonstrate how they can use “avoid, shift and improve” strategies to increase energy efficiency, curb greenhouse gas emissions, and improve water quality, urban mobility and land use.

“Sustainable urbanization is challenging, and the World Resources Institute has a proven track record of developing innovative approaches to the world’s biggest environmental and sustainability issues,” said Kevin Thieneman, Caterpillar China, India and ASEAN Country Manager. “Caterpillar is proud to support WRI’s work to create more sustainable and livable cities. It is our hope that the lessons learned in China, India and Brazil will guide the world’s urban centers toward more sustainable growth models that will generate practical solutions for managing rapid urbanization and improve the lives of millions of people.”

“WRI’s work in sustainable urbanization will go a long way toward making the great urban centers of tomorrow more sustainable and livable for all inhabitants,” said Caterpillar Brazil Country Manager Luiz Calil. “With its focus on sustainable progress, this project closely aligns with Caterpillar’s core business and will hopefully prove to be a template for more sustainable growth all over the world.”

WRI will create “blueprints”—low-carbon plans for environmentally sustainable and livable cities—to catalyze and help implement large-scale, high-impact demonstration projects. WRI will then conduct a prodigious targeted outreach effort to disseminate lessons learned to other growing cities to help them scale up and adapt key elements to their own conditions.

“Cities are incubators of innovation and are rapidly becoming the focal point for sustainable development in many countries,” said Manish Bapna, Interim President of WRI, “In the 21st century, people in urban areas will lead the pathways toward more renewable energy, improved mobility, and greater economic security. We are grateful to Caterpillar for their support to significantly expand our ability to develop sound solutions and achieve these goals.”

The ESU initiative will have three main phases:

Blueprints for Environmentally Smarter Growth: Blueprints will identify key steps toward addressing climate, water, land use and mobility challenges in ways that a) maximize economic efficiency and social benefits; b) minimize sprawl and environmental damage; and c) position the city to become a national and international model for sustainability.
Demonstration Projects: Moving from blueprints to action, WRI will catalyze large, high-profile and integrated projects that address more than one goal. Demonstration projects may include enabling a city to meet its carbon emissions-reduction targets; integrating development, transportation and pollution-reduction; and/or improving water quality and quantity.
Spreading Success to other Emerging Cities: WRI and its partners will pursue aggressive and targeted communications efforts to highlight the benefits of following new, smarter paths to urban growth among decision-makers in dozens of countries.

“Creating environmentally smart cities will demonstrate what is possible and practical,” said Professor Zou Ji, China Country Director for WRI. “With our partners, WRI aims to better equip leaders of growing cities with the training and tools to translate multiple concerns into coherent solutions and cost-effective action.”

China, India, and Brazil are among the world’s most rapidly urbanizing nations. In China, experts predict that by 2030 more than 70 percent of its people will live in cities, and that 221 cities will have at least one million residents. In India and Brazil, urban growth is explosive. Rapid urbanization poses substantial challenges. Poorly-planned, sprawling cities have the potential to undermine efforts to sustain economic growth, improve energy efficiency, curb greenhouse gas emissions, and secure clean water supplies. In all three nations, cities have the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty and become powerful engines for social progress.

WRI brings substantial experience to this project, including its ten-year EMBARQ Center for Sustainable Transport, which is well-known for its innovative programs on mobility and land use in Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey and Peru. WRI has expertise in climate, water, energy, ecosystem services, and in pursuing solutions in collaboration with governments, business, academia and civil society.

Forest Cover Loss to Development By County in the Southern United States (2001-2006)

Maggie Barron — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:29:08 -0400

This map identifies the hotspots where urban and suburban development are putting forests at risk in the southern United States. Areas experiencing the most forest loss to development between 2001 and 2006 (the most recent years for which data are available) were counties near Houston, Atlanta, Raleigh, and Charlotte. Counties around San Antonio, Jacksonville, and Birmingham round out the “top ten.”

When developing the map, WRI performed a county level analysis on the NLCD 2006 Land Cover Change dataset which was produced by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium, a coalition of federal agencies including the USGS, USDA Forest Service, NOAA, and others. WRI analyzed forested areas in 2001 that by 2006 had become developed or characterized by a high percentage of buildings, asphalt, concrete, and similar constructed infrastructure.

More Information: Top Ten Counties Losing Forests To Development In The U.S. South >>>

Copyright

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Cite “World Resources Institute.”

Other Featured WRI Maps

This map is part of a continuing project to produce maps that shed light on significant environmental issues throughout the world.

Making Adaptation Count: Concepts and Options for Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation

Kevin Lustig — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:07:25 -0400

This report was made possible with support from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Executive Summary

Adaptation, Development, and Monitoring and Evaluation

The impacts of climate change increasingly threaten the achievement of poverty reduction and other development objectives, including the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Research suggests that impacts over the course of the 21st century, if unaddressed, could cause a 5–10 percent loss in global gross domestic product (GDP), with poor countries’ wealth declining in excess of 10 percent.¹ Even more significant are the potential threats to human security – reduced agricultural production, heightened water scarcity, exposure to droughts, floods, storms, and diseases.²

As developing country governments and their international partners grow increasingly aware of these threats, they are turning to options for adapting to climate change in the development context. However, the national, sectoral, and project-based adaptation plans and policies now emerging are largely in their infancy and relatively untested. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of such initiatives, as they are implemented across the developing world, will be critically important for judging their effectiveness and making decisions on which efforts to scale up as climate impacts intensify. Industrialized countries and donor agencies channeling billions of dollars into adaptation finance, including under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will require such systems as an important dimension to the adaptation initiatives they support.

About This Publication

This paper aims to provide adaptation and development practitioners with a practical framework for developing M&E systems that can track the success and failure of adaptation initiatives in the development context. It is based upon a series of convenings, case studies, and interviews conducted by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In particular, the authors reviewed M&E systems in the planning and implementation stages for several relevant GIZ and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Bankengruppe (KfW or German Development Bank) natural resource management and adaptation projects in India.

We expect adaptation M&E practice will evolve substantially in the years ahead. We offer this guidance in the hope that capturing early lessons in adaptation can propel future successful efforts. This paper addresses the planning, design, and early implementation stages of adaptation interventions. The key framework can also serve as a basis for funders and their partners to develop or analyse programmatic agendas, formulate evaluation questions, or supplement guidance on M&E in a specific sector or thematic area.

The core principles presented in this report center around the importance of M&E as a tool to shape successful adaptation efforts. We also recognize, however, that M&E can serve other useful purposes. For example, it can help identify positive synergies between efforts towards adaptation and other objectives, such as economic growth or climate change mitigation.

The guidance presented here is limited to the scope of our research and consultations and has not yet been substantially tested in the field. Practitioners will undoubtedly need to adjust their use of this paper to the unique needs of specific interventions, and to existing M&E systems and management standards. Furthermore, analysis of adaptation strategies and efforts beyond the intervention level are largely beyond the scope of this paper. Very different methodologies may be needed to assess, for example, large-scale, countrywide adaptation strategies, or sector-wide adaptation efforts. Finally, as practitioners, governments, and other development cooperation partners progress in this emerging field, much remains to be tested and learned about “what works” in adaptation and how to measure it.

Stern 2006. ↩
UNDP 2008a. ↩