The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
Over 20% of mapped global species richness are found in World Heritage sites, despite these areas making up just 1% of the Earth’s surface, according to this joint assessment by IUCN and UNESCO. A UNESCO and IUCN assessment of the status of species reveals that UNESCO World Heritage sites harbour …
There are now more than 100 million people overall displaced, around 75% of whom are hosted by low or middle-income countries and living in protracted circumstances. Host countries are struggling to meet the needs of internally displaced people and refugees, despite the efforts and support of UN agencies and humanitarian …
The fossil fuel price crisis has accelerated the competitiveness of renewable power. Around 86 per cent (187 gigawatts) of all the newly commissioned renewable capacity in 2022 had lower costs than fossil fuel-fired electricity. Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2022, published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that …
This report assesses the impact of the road transport sector on energy demand, CO2 emissions and air pollution in several selected major emerging economies over the coming decades under several IEA modelling scenarios. Most notably the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS) aims to show to what extent announced ambitions and targets, …
Rising air pollution can cut life expectancy by more than five years per person in South Asia, one of the world’s most polluted regions, according to a report which flagged the growing burden of hazardous air on health. The region, which includes the world’s most polluted countries of Bangladesh, India, …
The global offshore wind industry delivered its second best year for new capacity ever in 2022, with 8.8 GW of new clean energy connected to the grid around the world, according to the new Global Offshore Wind Report 2023, from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The report forecasts that …
According to the Paris Agreement's Article 4, paragraph 19, nations are strongly urged to create and communicate their long-term strategies (LTS) considering the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) given the national circumstances. These strategies serve as blueprints for guiding climate actions and investments and are …
Wastewater is a growing health and environmental threat, accounting for almost as many planet warming emissions as the aviation industry. Yet, with the right policies, wastewater could be an invaluable resource, providing alternative energy to half a billion people, supplying over 10 times the water provided by current global desalination …
This report summarizes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during 2022. It describes how the Organization continued to deliver its essential WASH programming as elaborated in its 2018–2025 strategy. This includes publication and dissemination of its work monitoring access to WASH and WASH …
The world is approaching the midpoint implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but only 12% of the targets are on track. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) has emerged as a critical enabler of digital transformation and can turbocharge progress to deliver on the SDGs. But to do so, it …
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more likely to augment than destroy jobs by automating some tasks rather than taking over a role entirely, a new study from the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found. The study, Generative AI and Jobs: A global analysis of potential effects on job quantity and …
Technology and data are integral to daily life. As health systems face increasing demands to deliver new, more, better, and seamless services affordable to all people, data and technology are essential. With the potential and perils of innovations like artificial intelligence the future of health care is expected to be …
Water is a critical natural resource, a global public good, and an essential service. Water security is central for countries to achieve long-term development objectives in the current context of climate change, including protecting infrastructure assets, safeguarding agricultural production, producing sustainable energy, and protecting vulnerable populations. However, water resources are …
New data from WRI’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas show that 25 countries — housing one-quarter of the global population — face extremely high water stress each year, regularly using up almost their entire available water supply. And at least 50% of the world’s population — around 4 billion people — …
Twenty-five countries, which house one-quarter of the world's population, are facing extremely high water stress each year, regularly using up almost their entire available water supply. According to this research published by the World Resources Institute, at least 50 per cent of the global population or around four billion people …
This technical note serves as the main reference for the updated Aqueduct™️ 4.0 water risk framework. It details the data and methodology used to create 13 indicators of global water risk. Indicators reflect both current conditions and future projections of water supply, demand, stress, and more. This paper also describes …
Forests are an important component of natural capital and deliver a broad range of ecosystem services that underpin human well-being. The extent and condition of forests in many parts of the world, however, have declined dramatically during the preceding decades due to unsustainable harvesting of timber, forest fires, urbanization, and …
This publication serves as a guide for countries in exploring how reporting for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators under FAO custodianship serves the scope of compiling information for the biennial transparency reports (BRT) under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF). The paper intends to demonstrate the potential integration of adaptation …
The IEA Announced Pledges Scenario estimates that increasing electric vehicles stock from 17 million units today to 808 million units by 2040 can contribute to reducing transport emissions by 36%. The benefits of transport decarbonisation are bolstered by the decarbonisation of power systems, which poses an opportunity for emerging and …
Climate change impacts and the effects of country responses spill across borders. These cross-border, transmitted effects are reshaping the global economy. Flows of natural resources and ecosystem services, traded goods and services, investment and ideas, as well as migration and travel, are shifting. Major economic powers, including the European Union …
