WRI Insights

Indian cities are urbanizing at an unprecedented scale and pace. Over the next few decades, India’s urban population is expected to increase significantly, from [377 million](http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/india/Rural_Urban_2011.pdf) in 2011 to [590 million](http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/urban_awakening_in_india) by 2030.

Since the [very first Earth Day](http://earthsky.org/earth/this-date-in-science-why-celebrate-earth-day-on-april-22) more than four decades ago, the environmental movement has tackled a wide range of problems, including air pollution, contaminated water, [deforestation](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/03/5-lessons-sustaining-global-forests), biodiversity loss, and more. But this Earth Day, I propose that there are two fundamental issues the movement must address over the coming decade if it is ever to defuse the tension between development and the environment. In fact, these two issues underlie many, if not most, of the world’s environmental challenges.

WASHINGTON (April 19, 2013)-Fourteen Latin American and Caribbean countries adopted an ambitious Plan of Action to improve access rights in the region, including access to information, public participation, and access to justice.

Having recently left the bustling streets and warm hospitality of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I’m taking a moment to reflect on all that I have learned at CDKN’s workshop on “Climate Finance in East Africa.” Representatives of government departments and research institutes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda--as well as members of the donor community and international think-tanks--reflected on their experiences and the challenges faced in mobilizing and effectively deploying [climate change finance](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/04/why-climate-finance-so-hard-define).

The World Bank’s [annual spring meetings](http://www.imf.org/external/spring/2013/) take place this week in Washington, D.C. [One big topic](http://www.bicusa.org/ai1ec_event/orientation-session-on-the-imf/comparative-safeguard-policies-at-the-other-ifis/?instance_id=341) on the agenda is how to update the World Bank’s “safeguard” policies. Created in the early 1990s, [these policies](http://go.worldbank.org/WTA1ODE7T0) ensure that the Bank considers the social and environmental effects of proposed projects. For example, the safeguards require those borrowing money to [assess](http://go.worldbank.org/OSARUT0MP0) the project’s environmental impacts and to [compensate households](http://go.worldbank.org/ZDIJXP7TQ0) who are negatively affected. The full suite of safeguards is now [under review](http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:23275156~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html) for the first time. Among other things, the Bank hopes to make its safeguard policies reflect changes in the global economic and political landscape that have occurred in recent decades. #### World Bank Safeguards vs. National Safeguards #### One question on the table is how the World Bank safeguards should interact with national systems already in place in recipient countries. Since the creation of the Bank’s safeguards, many countries have strengthened their own rules and institutions to ensure that large-scale projects are implemented in a manner that protects people and the environment. These include, for instance, laws requiring environmental impact assessments, or government agencies to oversee land use changes. Relying on these domestic systems can potentially improve protection of people and the environment. National laws, for example, allow governments and citizens to work within their own familiar structures, and they’re sometimes more appropriate for local circumstances than Bank policies.

Ministers are gathering in New Delhi [today](http://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/Events/CEM4.aspx) to address an urgent challenge: how to unlock the full potential of clean energy to drive economic growth, expand energy access, and protect the climate. The 4th [Clean Energy Ministerial](http://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/Events/CEM4.aspx) — which brings together energy ministers and other delegates from more than 20 leading economies — is a critical opportunity to inject new life into the global clean energy transition.

The Gulf of Mexico has the [largest dead zone](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/10/extreme-weather-mixed-bag-dead-zones) in the United States and the second-largest in the world. Dead zones form when excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous wash into waterways and spur algal blooms, depleting the water of oxygen and killing fish, shrimp, and other marine life. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone can range between an astounding 3,000 and [8,000 square miles](http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/jellyfish/textonly/locations_gulfmexico.jsp). At its largest, it’s about the size of Massachusetts.

The way companies report on their financial status has changed little since corporate accounting standards were first created 80 years ago. Yet the world they operate in, and the risks and opportunities they face, have changed almost beyond recognition.

Without the right laws and safeguards in place, development can come at the expense of the environment and local communities. This point is especially evident in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Newspapers across the region regularly document conflicts over land and [natural resource use](http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/argentina-affected-communities-say-no-osisko), [hydroelectric power](http://infoamazonia.org/maps/hydroelectric-power/) development, [oil exploitation](http://chevrontoxico.com/news-and-multimedia/2011/1010-chevron-in-open-conflict-with-ecuador-government-to-evade-environmental-cleanup), expansion of agriculture into virgin forests, and the [disruption of indigenous practices](http://blog.cifor.org/13304/for-indigenous-people-in-latin-america-land-rights-are-only-half-the-battle/).

In 2011, nearly 350 million people lived in Indian cities. [More than 300 million](http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/urban_awakening_in_india) new residents will join them over the next few decades to become part of the new urban India. This population boom will stress an already-pressured urban infrastructure system, especially with regard to transportation.