Headlines about climate change often focus on food scarcity, but the problems facing the irrigation sector – which is critical to our ability to feed the future – are usually too complex to make it into the news. For stakeholders in the sector, however, the challenges are all too clear., such as:
Our oceans are in deep trouble. Uncontrolled pollution and overfishing have brought the state of many of our seas and oceans to an unprecedentedly precarious situation.
In recent years, multiple campaigns have sparked to raise awareness of this situation and motivate people and governments to take action. For example, the Ocean Health Index measures ocean health across the regions in the World. One of these campaigns is One World One Ocean. Based in California, United States, this organization produces films, infographics, short videos and other media products to raise awareness of ocean degradation and to spark a global movement to protect the seas.
The video “Why the Ocean?” by One World One Ocean provides interesting and alarming data on the oceans’ situation and encourages everyone, everywhere to take action.
Also available in: Español
In the run-up to the COP21 climate conference, one question becomes central: where will we find the solutions on the ground—and the people to implement them—to realize the renewed political ambitions on climate?
Sustainability writ large – in all its environmental, social and economic dimensions – has been the theme driving the global debate as the SDGs have taken shape. A comprehensive plan that prioritizes 17 objectives – with 169 indicators to measure their progress toward completion – the SDGs will frame the global agenda through 2030. The SDGs’ adoption – at a U.N. summit from September 25 to 27 – will be a pivotal checkpoint along this year’s complex pathway of diplomacy, which will culminate in Paris in December with a crucial conference on the greatest of all sustainability issues: climate change.
Optimism seems to be steadily increasing as diplomats continue to negotiate a global climate-change deal. The hope is for an ambitious agreement at the so-called COP 21 conference – the 21st gathering of the Conference of Parties in the climate-change negotiations. The question, however, is how ambitious that pact will be.
As Rachel Kyte – the World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy on Climate Change – pointed out in a start-of-September forum at the World Bank: “I think that everything is in place for a deal to be struck in Paris, a deal that is universal, that brings everybody in to the table. . . . So a universal deal, a universal framework . . . is possible. The question, I think, is how strong a deal it's going to be.”
As the clock ticks down to the deadline for a deal in Paris, Kyte (in conversation with Kalee Kreider of the United Nations Foundation) offered a detailed analysis of the intricacies surrounding the final stages of the negotiations: “The question, really, now is the level of ambition, the strength of that deal. And that's politics, not science. That's politics, not economics.”
- sustainable development goals
- climate change agreement
- greenhouse gas emissions
- climate finance
- Climate adaptation
- climate action
- Sustainable Development
- Climate Change
- Climate Change
- Law and Regulation
- Public Sector and Governance
- Private Sector Development
Luu Vinh Trinh is an 18-year-old student, born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, with a dream of becoming an English teacher. Trinh and one million other students across Vietnam just completed the final high school graduation exam this July. After spending 12 years in school, Trinh and her friends have observed many issues that could be addressed to improve the quality of education in Vietnam.
There is a growing consensus that a new approach is needed to meet the financial needs of developing countries to ensure sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth paths. We all know that Official Development Assistance (ODA) finance is limited and cannot address the massive investment needs of countries. In addition to increased domestic resource mobilization, the more effective engagement of a variety of players, especially from private sector, NGOs, and philanthropic organizations, will be key to close the finance gap.
When I was growing up in Albania in the mid-80s, gas flares were a constant and silent backdrop to our holidays by the seashore. The fiery plumes would shimmer in the early morning summer light while we squeezed like sardines into the bus that would take up to the beach. At night, from our cabin, they looked like rows of giant torches in the distance. As a child, I was mesmerized by the way the flames danced and shimmered from the tall chimneys in clouds of black curling smoke. I was told that the oil wells were on fire and eventually the flares burned themselves out. I didn’t ask many questions then; in communism asking questions was discouraged and could get one in trouble.
Each year on March 22 we mark World Water Day. It is an opportunity to keep the urgent water issues – from lack of sanitation to transboundary water to climate change -- top of my mind for practitioners, decision makers and the global public. In the coming days we will post here updates and stories from the field, as well as links to some of our partners’ content. But, more importantly, this is an opportunity to hear from you, too.
Last month, in Mauritania, I stopped by a village just north of the Senegal river. As we drank tea under a patchy old tent, an old man pointed to the surrounding savannah – grassland with the odd acacia tree.
Q: As the new Director for the Energy and Extractives Global Practice at the World Bank, can you tell us about the greatest challenges you face in Extractives?
A: Extractive industries are complex and often risky, but when managed well they can foster transformative development in those countries that most need it. Extractives play a dominant role in 81 countries whose economies together account for a quarter of world GDP. These 81 countries also represent half of the world’s population and nearly 70 percent of those in extreme poverty. Given the need of these countries, a focus on natural resource management is important, but we must work diligently to mitigate the risks and improve governance structures so that the wealth generated from these activities benefits the poor. Similarly, a cornerstone of all the work we do is to mitigate the social and environmental impacts of extractives projects so that they benefit neighboring communities as well as broader economic growth. We also look forward to strengthening our work to improve governance of the extractive industries through efforts like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and minimizing the environmental footprint of projects by reducing routine gas flaring (Global Gas Flaring Reduction, GGFR).