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 …
This report from IRENA's Collaborative Framework on Green Hydrogen assesses progress in green hydrogen deployment. The report gauges the success achieved to date in translating green hydrogen strategies and plans into actions – particularly in the context of green hydrogen supply and demand structures. Green hydrogen and its derivatives are …
Curbing carbon emissions to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement requires the deployment of low carbon technologies (LCTs) at a global scale. This paper assesses the role of climate and trade policies in fostering LCT diffusion through trade. Leveraging a comprehensive database of climate policies and a new …
The world wasted an estimated 19 per cent of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons, according to this new report by the UNEP. The Food Waste Index Report 2024 builds upon its predecessor in three key ways: Firstly, it incorporates vastly expanded data points …
The Clean Energy Transitions Programme (CETP) is the IEA’s flagship initiative for accelerating progress toward a global net zero energy system. The CETP Annual Report 2023 provides an overview of the programme’s achievements over the past year. The remarkable impact of the CETP’s work during this period was reflected in …
Highlighting the continued progress achieved in the global energy transition, this latest edition of IRENA’s Renewable capacity statistics illustrates the growth of renewables in new installed power generation capacity in 2023. By the end of 2023, renewables accounted for 43% of global installed power capacity. Yet, as draw closer to …
A devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, severe convective storms (SCS) and large-scale urban floods were the main events driving insured natural catastrophe losses to USD 108 billion in 2023, reaffirming the 5–7% annual growth trend in global insured natural catastrophe losses since 1994. Swiss Re Institute estimates that insured …
In 2024, all countries will be updating and submitting their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These national climate plans outline commitments towards tackling climate change. These plans impact all walks of life and must therefore be inclusive of the whole of society. By examining recent practices across 11 countries, Oxfam found …
Today the world faces unprecedented challenges in waste management while the state of the municipal waste management sector globally is a matter of concern. To reverse current trends related to waste generation, pollution, and resource management, active collaboration between the various waste actors including governments, civil society, and the private …
The world's electronic waste generation is increasing five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, according to the United Nation's fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) report. The world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, the UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) reveals. A record …
Bihar's Begusarai emerged as the world's most polluted metropolitan area while Delhi was identified as the capital city with the poorest air quality, according to this report by the Swiss organisation IQAir. The 2023 World Air Quality Report provides a global review of air quality data for the year 2023. …
Weather and climate hazards have compounded concerns over food security, population displacements, and impacts on vulnerable populations in 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Global Climate 2023. This new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that records were once again broken, and in …
Forced labour in the private economy generates US$236 billion in illegal profits per year, a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found. The total amount of illegal profits from forced labour has risen by US$64 billion (37 per cent) since 2014, a dramatic increase that has been …
Action Against Hunger released the 2024 Water Funding Gap report, finding that globally, only 36% of appeals for water- and sanitation-related funding were met in 2023, leaving a 64% gap. Despite dwindling aid, the need for assistance is intensifying – 3.6 billion people worldwide lack adequate sanitation, and are susceptible …
Developing and maintaining a secure and equitable water future underpins prosperity and peace for all. The relationship also works in the opposite direction, as poverty and inequality, social tensions, and conflict can amplify water insecurity. This report calls attention to the complex and interlinked relationships between sustainable water management, prosperity …
Coal is the most carbon-intensive major fossil fuel in use today and is deeply entrenched in the power system, but drastic reductions in its consumption are required to achieve net-zero emissions. Accelerating Coal Transitions provides an update on the IEA’s 2022 report Coal in Net Zero Transitions at the request …
Estimate a bilateral gravity equation for emigration rates controlling for decadal weather averages of temperature, precipitation, droughts, and extreme precipitation in origin countries. Using the parameter estimates of the gravity equation, estimate global, regional, and country-by-country emigration flows using different population and climate scenarios. Global emigration flows are projected to …
After a drop in its Human Development Index (HDI) value in 2021 and following a flat trend over the past few years, India’s HDI value has increased to 0.644 in 2022, placing the country 134 out of 193 countries and territories in the just released 2023/24 Human Development Report (HDR) …
In the context of India’s 2023 G20 Presidency, this report provides an overview of the experience of carbon pricing across the world. It focuses on the benefits of these instruments, the challenges that impede wider adoption, and the plausible solutions that can lead to the faster uptake of these tools …
The number of children who died before their fifth birthday has reached a historic low, dropping to 4.9 million in 2022, according to this latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). This year’s United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN …
The year saw the last of the COVID pandemic-delayed milestones completed. Countries adopted major decisions to improve global chemicals management and protect marine life in international waters. But most of the year was about making all these rules work. Join the globetrotting Earth Negotiations Bulletin team as they review 2023's …
