Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Global investment in energy transition technologies, including energy efficiency, reached a record high of USD 1.3 trillion in 2022. However, annual investments need to at least quadruple to remain on track to achieve the 1.5°C Scenario in IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook 2022. Investment in renewable energy was also unprecedented …
Only 47% of hunger funding needs through the UN humanitarian system are met, leaving a hunger funding gap of 53%, according to the Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap Report. The analysis also found that countries experiencing the worst hunger crises received less hunger funding (by the percentage of …
The government of India over the years has taken various steps to promote philanthropy, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and enabling availability of low cost capital to the marginalized and vulnerable populations. Promotion of low cost credit through numerous guarantee schemes for farmers and MSMEs has been a commonly used tool …
The objective of this report is to conduct a preliminary options analysis of financing instruments suited to the Kenya context which can help Kenya, over time, to reduce the gap between the financing needs for climate and nature action and the actual funding the country can leverage from the government’s …
This report shows how smart trade and investment policies, and regulatory cooperation in the Asia and Pacific region can help economies tackle climate change, recover from the pandemic, and support resilient and sustainable development. Analyzing topics including global value chains, investment, the movement of people, and regional cooperation initiatives, it …
Finance Minister has presented the Union Budget 2023 in Parliament. Among the key takeaways are big incentives under the new income tax regime and a big push in capex. As the Finance Minister presented the Budget, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty gained momentum in morning trade. The income tax rebate …
This report highlights the urgent need to rewire the current financial systems towards (a) de-risking current investments (b) integrating risk reduction into credit allocation and (c) redirecting financial flows towards risk reduction. The report opens with case studies on eight disaster events over the past decade that explore in detail …
This report highlights the urgent need to rewire the current financial systems towards (a) de-risking current investments (b) integrating risk reduction into credit allocation and (c) redirecting financial flows towards risk reduction. The report opens with case studies on eight disaster events over the past decade that explore in detail …
More than at any time in the history, climate change is having an increasingly unprecedented effect on human lives. Economies are affected severely in terms of sovereign risk due to climate change variations influencing the macroeconomy. Asian countries are highly susceptible to economic downturn due to the consequences of climate …
Climate change and environmental risks are increasingly recognized as a concern for financial authorities, yet empirical evidence of the damage for bank balance sheets is relatively scant. This paper provides preliminary estimates of the aggregate impact of physical risks from climate and environmental-related natural disasters on bank balance sheets across …
India's renewable energy sector, which is on the cusp of another growth spurt driven by the next wave of policies and reforms, offers significant investment opportunities for global and domestic investors, according to this joint report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Invest India. The …
Poor diets and malnutrition in all its forms are among the greatest global social challenges of our time. The Nutrition Year of Action spotlighted the urgent need for more action whilst ensuring that all stakeholders are held accountable for their commitments. The 2022 Global Nutrition Report provides an analysis of …
There is increasing awareness that existing, unabated coal plants need to be retired before the end of their lifecycle, and a growing demand for financing to meet those objectives. However, such financing creates a potential dilemma: adding emissions-intensive assets to the financing institution’s portfolio during a time when financial institutions …
Nigeria’s economy needs to grow faster to reduce poverty. Despite favorable global oil prices, “business as usual” economic management is not delivering desired outcomes and, even if a crisis is avoided in the near-term, long-standing policy and institutional challenges are persisting and severely constraining the economy. This hinders the prospects …
The report on Infrastructure Financing Trends (IFT) 2019-2020 was prepared in highly unusual period during which the COVID-19 pandemic upended many economic and social trends worldwide.All countries were affected; in Africa, many key social services such as basic healthcare and education were curtailed and jobs were lost, which increased poverty …
Tracking and reporting on CRI investment is essential but challenging. Tracking CRI investments allows us to measure progress on the resilience goals of the Paris Agreement and understand investment gaps, barriers, and opportunities to further scale and channel finance into geographies and sectors that need it most. Assessing the landscape …
Governments are facing significant climate-related risks from the expected increase in frequency and intensity of cyclones, floods, fires, and other climate-related extreme events. The report Building Financial Resilience to Climate Impacts: A Framework for Governments to Manage the Risks of Losses and Damages provides a strategic framework to help governments, …
This year’s Global Health Expenditure Report: Rising to the Pandemic's Challenges reveals how health expenditure was impacted during 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report explores: Whether the health spending patterns by governments, households, and donors changed during the first year of the COVID-19? Will 2020 patterns …
Development finance institutions have a crucial role to help bring about the needed shift in global food systems and the land sector more specifically. They can support the implementation of more sustainable agricultural practices, the identification and mitigation of climate risks along the value chain of their clients (for example …
Countries in the world’s largest carbon-emitting region are not investing nearly enough in renewable energy to meet global targets for avoiding dangerous planetary heating, according to this new study by Fair Finance Asia, a network of over 90 Asian allied civil society organisations (CSOs) committed to ensuring financial institutions’ funding …
