Blog Posts: economics

In the global battle to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and prevent disasters, most economists agree that a carbon price is a key tool in the toolbox. But what’s less commonly discussed are what policies are needed in addition to a carbon price.

Investment in urban measures like efficient appliances, mass transit, walkable cities and more sustainable building materials could garner massive returns, some on relatively short payback periods. And the true scale of benefits goes beyond money: Low-carbon cities are essential to meeting the climate challenge.

One new finding from the Global Commission on Adaptation: Investing $1.8 trillion globally in adaptation from 2020 to 2030 could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits.

Green infrastructure can mitigate most of the world's major water problems, but investment has been held back by lack of certainty about returns. Our new methodology helps lay out how to measure the costs and benefits of green and gray infrastructure projects.

China's central government has turned to regional integration for the country's next stage of economic development, announcing or strengthening mega-region initiatives like the Yangtze River Delta Integration, Greater Bay Area Development and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integration. If done right, this strategy can also help shift China onto a low-carbon pathway.

With new papers on fossil fuel subsidies and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the IMF is exploring ways it can help address the climate crisis.

A new report from the Indonesian government finds that the country can slash emissions almost 43 percent by 2030 while growing GDP 6 percent per year until 2045. The findings will feed directly into the government's next five-year development plan.

We don't know the future. We do know there would be huge benefits to shifting towards a low-carbon economy. Here are answers to seven of the most-asked questions about the economics of the NCE report.

Nearly 70 percent of us will call cities home by 2050. To ensure that cities reap the economic benefits of this population boom, though, research shows they need to grow up, not out.

Europe feels a long way from Yokohama, site of a recent world forum on the circular economy. But Europe is actually at the forefront of the global push for sustainability, which offers a huge competitive advantage.