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 technical report offers contextual information, tools, and recommendations to help plan, design, and implement nature-based solutions (NbS) for adaptation that advance gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) while enhancing resilience, biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity. It contributes to the nascent field of gender-responsive and inclusive NbS by providing practitioners working …
Aon plc published its 2024 Climate and Catastrophe Insight report, which identifies global natural disaster and climate trends to help make better decisions to manage volatility and enhance global resilience. The report reveals that the 398 global natural disaster events caused a $380 billion (2022: $355 billion) economic loss during …
This report written by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, provides an in-depth economic analysis of how climate change will reshape health landscapes over the next two decades. It highlights increased risks from new pathogens, pollution and extreme weather events and shows how these will exacerbate current …
Progress in reducing tobacco use is a key indicator for measuring countries’ efforts to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – target 3.a under the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Countries have adopted this indicator to report progress also towards the tobacco reduction target under the Global Action Plan …
A special edition of the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor assesses the integrity of renewable electricity targets from 10 major companies in fashion and tech. The real GHG emission reduction impact of companies’ renewable electricity claims is often far less than implied. Several companies, including H&M; Group, Inditex and Samsung Electronics, …
There are multiple interdependent approaches to climate adaptation, including economic incentives, policy and regulation, locally-led intervention, and nature-based approaches. Technology is a key enabler across all of them – helping leaders not only to assess climate risk but also to identify solutions and to build resilience in the real world. …
This paper offers a perspective on the intersection between climate change and inequality. It highlights the effects of climate mitigation on workers, entrepreneurs and consumers, aiming to mobilize governments and businesses to maximize opportunities and minimize risks in the green transition. In the absence of fairness in the distribution of …
The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020 —at a rate of $14 million per hour— while nearly five billion people have been made poorer, reveals a new Oxfam report on inequality and global corporate power. If current trends …
Prospects for Children in 2024: Cooperation in a Fragmented World is the latest edition of the Global Outlook, a series of reports produced each year by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, which look to the key trends affecting children and young people over the following 12 …
The current energy crisis has raised important policy questions on how to strengthen short-term energy security while remaining firmly committed to the green transition, a challenge amplified by the recent consensus at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels. This paper examines the historical determinants of the security of energy …
This report uses rich global survey data from the Gallup World Poll to analyse the relationship between environmental conditions, displacement and migration. An instrumental variable model is used to link geocoded data on environmental disasters to individual anticipation of displacement and migration aspirations. The report confirms the established finding that …
The amount of renewable energy capacity added to energy systems around the world grew by 50% in 2023, reaching almost 510 gigawatts (GW), with solar PV accounting for three-quarters of additions worldwide, according to Renewables 2023, the latest edition of the IEA’s annual market report on the sector. The largest …
The Global Water Monitor provides free, rapid and global information on climate and water resources. This summary report contains information on rainfall, air temperature, humidity, soil and groundwater conditions, vegetation access to water, river flows, flooding, and lake volumes in 2023. Trends in the water cycle and some of the …
Drawing on nearly two decades of original risks perception data, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 warns of a global risks landscape in which progress in human development is being chipped away slowly, leaving states and individuals vulnerable to new and resurgent risks. Against a backdrop of systemic …
Labour markets have shown surprising resilience despite deteriorating economic conditions, but recovery from the pandemic remains uneven as new vulnerabilities and multiple crises are eroding prospects for greater social justice, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report. The ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook Trends: 2024 (WESO Trends) …
Global growth is expected to slow further this year, reflecting the lagged and ongoing effects of tight monetary policy to rein in inflation, restrictive credit conditions, and anemic global trade and investment. Downside risks include an escalation of the recent conflict in the Middle East, financial stress, persistent inflation, weaker-than-expected …
Global temperatures reached exceptionally high levels in 2023. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) monitored several key climate indicators throughout the year, reporting on record-breaking conditions such as the hottest month on record and daily global temperature averages briefly surpassing pre-industrial levels by more than 2°C. Unprecedented global temperatures from …
Global economic growth is projected to slow from an estimated 2.7 per cent in 2023 to 2.4 per cent in 2024, trending below the pre-pandemic growth rate of 3.0 per cent, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024. This latest forecast comes on the heels …
This report highlights the socioeconomic contributions of the geothermal sector, including the potential opportunities and benefits that can be enhanced at national and local levels throughout geothermal projects’ development and operation. The report was prepared using qualitative data from over 40 stakeholders in the geothermal industry, including governments, industry associations, …
By 2050, an additional 2.5 billion people will be living in the world’s towns and cities, with almost 50 per cent of that growth taking place in the Commonwealth. Member States, both large and small, are facing the impacts of climate change and rapid urbanization. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded …
