In 2021, North Africa showed strong signs of recovery from a downturn in 2020 due to the global pandemic and concomitant oil price collapse. The policy responses of governments helped mitigate the effect of these exogenous shocks, leading to a 3.9 percent real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in …
Economic losses from drought, floods and landslides have rocketed in Asia. In 2021 alone, weather and water-related hazards caused total damage of US$ 35.6 billion, affecting nearly 50 million people, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The State of the Climate in Asia 2021 report …
India released its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), setting out a broad framework of how it proposes to meet its goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2070. India submitted its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on …
This Progress Report covers the period 2018 to 2022 – a period of challenges and change for the world, for Africa and for the Pan Africa Program (PAP). During that period the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard. Although Africa experienced fewer deaths and infections than had been anticipated, it spotlighted the …
As food insecurity and global warming rise, governments, international development partners and industry should invest in sustainable food cold chains to decrease hunger, provide livelihoods to communities, and adapt to climate change, according to this new report by the FAO and the UNEP An estimated 14 percent of the total …
Limited supply and unequal vaccine distribution means that lower-income countries consistently struggle to access essential inoculations in demand by wealthier countries, according to this latest report, by the World Health Organization (WHO). The report aims to capture lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and to highlight the opportunity for more ambitious …
The Poverty and Gender Assessment examines the structural challenges to securing a robust and inclusive recovery from the pandemic and sustained progress in poverty reduction and gender equality in The Gambia. It leverages a diverse set of data sources to understand the nature of poverty and household welfare, and highlights …
The past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to this World Meteorological Organization’s provisional State of the Global Climate in …
As climate impacts intensify across the globe, nations must dramatically increase funding and implementation of actions designed to help vulnerable nations and communities adapt to the climate storm, according to this new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Countries must urgently ramp up action to adapt to the …
Agricultural automation, which includes anything from tractors to artificial intelligence, can play an important role in making food production more efficient and more environmentally friendly. However, its uneven adoption can also deepen inequalities, especially if it remains inaccessible to small-scale producers and other marginalized groups, such as youth and women. …
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in its report to the NGT, November 2, 2022 said that there are no non-recyclable multi-layered plastic sachets or pouches or packaging producers existing in Andhra Pradesh. If any producer is found operating without registration from APPCB, appropriate action will be taken against …
India recorded extreme weather events on 242 of the 273 days between January 1 and September 30, 2022. This means that more than 88 per cent of the time over these nine months, the country was witnessing an extreme weather event of some sort happening in one or more of …
The African Development Bank’s East Africa Regional Economic Outlook 2022 reviews the economic performance of 13 East African countries over the past year with short- to medium-term projections. The countries are Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Overall, East Africa recorded …
Africa is a diverse continent of 1.2 billion people, spanning 55 countries, and many different ecological systems, cultures, and economies. Over the past two decades, the continent’s average annual economic growth rate has been about 3.4%. Much of this growth has been reliant on climate-sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, …
Some of the world’s most iconic glaciers are set to disappear by 2050, according to this new study by UNESCO, which highlights the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites. New UNESCO data highlight the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites, with glaciers in a third of …
The Coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change have all hampered Africa’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Halfway towards 2030, most African countries are struggling to meet most SDG targets. Without deliberate policies to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, by 2030, at least 492 million …
The outlook for global labour markets has worsened in recent months and on current trends job vacancies will decline and global employment growth will deteriorate significantly in the final quarter of 2022, according to this new ILO report. Rising inflation is causing real wages to fall in many countries. This …
Global carbon emissions from energy will peak in 2025 thanks to massively increased government spending on clean fuels in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to this analysis by the International Energy Agency. With the world in the midst of the first global energy crisis – triggered by Russia's …
At 2.4 tCO2e (tonne carbon dioxide equivalent), India’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions were far below the world average of 6.3 tCO2e in 2020, according to this new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). As growing climate change impacts are experienced across the globe, the message that greenhouse …
Various public development banks provide unearmarked loans to countries in exchange for policy and institutional reforms through what are known as “policy-based operations”. Especially in an economic crisis, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, policy-based operations make up a significant proportion of all lending for several development banks. Despite their …
