Sector/Thematic Studies

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2110

Economic and Sectoral Work are original analytic reports authored by the World Bank and intended to influence programs and policy in client countries. They convey Bank-endorsed recommendations and represent the formal opinion of a World Bank unit on the topic. This set includes the sectoral and thematic studies which are not Core Diagnostic Studies. Other analytic and advisory activities (AAA), including technical assistance studies, are included in these sectoral/thematic collections.

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The Economics of Plastic Use and Cleanup Priorities for West African Coastal Countries

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-07-12) World Bank

Rapidly growing, unregulated plastic litter has created a multitude of environmental and economic problems worldwide. With an estimated lifetime of centuries, plastic waste has become a major stressor in marine ecosystems. In West Africa, the use of plastic products has proliferated with urbanization, and their unregulated disposal has created a host of terrestrial and marine-related environmental problems. This study aims to help decision-makers better understand the economics of marine plastic-waste generation and its cleanup, with a focus on West African coastal countries. To aid the policy process to reduce marine plastic pollution, it addresses the following key questions: • What is the economic cost to society of marine plastic waste? • How does this cost compare with the pollution mitigation cost, using various incentive-based, command-and control approaches for pollution prevention and the cost of plastic waste removal through cleaning, recycling, and safe disposal? • Would general economic measures (for example, tariffs on imported polyethylene) significantly reduce pollution from single-use plastics? • Are there trade-offs between plastic pollution prevention and any other social objectives related to policymaking? How should cost-effective cleanups be implemented?
West Africa Circular Economy: Realizing the Potential of Plastics

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-07-12) World Bank

The circular economy has become a priority in recent decades as policy makers seek to facilitate a transition from linear production systems to closed systems that reuse resources, reduce energy consumption and avoid the exploitation of nonrenewable resources. This regional gap analysis reveals several important trends. Key among them is a rapid rate of increase. Plastic consumption in the WACA region was estimated at 7.9 million tons in 2021; at current growth rates, this could increase to 12 million tons by 2026. The WACA region relies heavily on imported plastic-related goods from sources outside the region, such as Asia. Nigeria was found to be both the largest producer of plastic products and the biggest importer of plastic parts and products, in addition to being the WACA region’s only producer of virgin plastic resin. Other notable major producers of plastics in the WACA region include Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The plastic landscape investigation included a spatial analysis of plastic waste generation across the WACA region. This revealed varying rates of national annual plastic generation. The spatial analysis work also led to the identification of 71 plastic waste generation hotspots across the WACA region, with a concentration in Nigeria. The plastic market analysis revealed that the three industry sectors (construction, plastic packaging, and fisheries) represented 78 percent of total plastic consumption in 2021. By 2026, the three sectors’ business-as-usual plastic consumption is expected to reach 9.5 million tons, with per capita plastic waste growing from 12.5 kilograms (kg) to 17.3 kg. The largest plastics consumer of the three sectors is plastic packaging, followed by construction. The plastic packaging sector could focus on new, circular economy business models over the next five years. In this sector, plastic waste recovery and avoidance/reuse/recycling of between 2.2 and 4 million tons of plastic in a “pragmatic” 1 circular scenario would reduce CO 2 emissions between 41 and 53 percent (3.6–6.7 million tons CO 2 emissions). In the construction industry, in a pragmatic circular scenario plastic avoidance would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.1 and 0.3 million tons, and plastic waste recovery would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.1 and 0.2 million tons. Finally, in the fisheries sector, plastic avoidance under the pragmatic circular scenario would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.03 and 0.05 million tons, and plastic waste recovery would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.04 and 0.07 million tons. New circular business models can motivate these three sectors to reuse and extend the life span of plastic materials.
Scaling Up Ecosystem Restoration Finance: A Stocktake Report

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11) United Nations ; World Bank

Humanity is embedded in nature and depends profoundly on the goods and services it generates. Future economic development and well-being hinge on healthy and resilient ecosystems that provide our food and raw materials, drinking water, clean air, and the stability of the climate system. More than half of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in sectors such as construction and agriculture that depend on ecosystem services (WEF 2020), making nature relevant not only to policymakers, but also business and financial leaders. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which aims to drive the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land between now and 2030. The UN Decade is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity. The UN Decade Finance Task Force (FTF), chaired by the World Bank, aims to catalyze action which can contribute to unlocking the capital needed to meet the Decade’s goals. ‘Unlocking Restoration Finance: A Stocktake Report’ is the first in a series of outputs of the FTF. This report provides an overview of the current challenges to and opportunities for increasing public and private investment in restoration. It looks at innovative approaches to financing restoration activities taken by actors in the public, private, or non-profit sectors and the potential for these to be replicated or scaled. The report also lays out a draft roadmap of actions the FTF will take to overcome challenges and contribute to scaling investment in restoration.
Sovereign Climate and Nature Reporting: Proposal for a Risks and Opportunities Disclosure Framework

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-01-31) World Bank

The purpose of this report is to raise awareness and initiate a discussion on the need for sovereign sustainability reporting. The proposed sovereign climate and nature reporting framework would assist sovereigns looking to attract investment by enabling them to produce comprehensive, regular, standardized, and, eventually, forward-looking disclosures of their climate- and nature related risks and opportunities. Sovereign reporting would help meet the needs of investors who are increasingly requesting such disclosures for all asset classes in their portfolios so that they can measure portfolio alignment with the Paris Agreement. This report discusses five fundamental questions regarding sovereign climate and nature reporting: (a) why is a sovereign reporting framework needed;(b) what is required to develop a reporting framework for sovereigns; (c) how is materiality important in driving a reporting framework for sovereigns; (d) what is the potential for unintended consequences; and (e) what are the recommended next steps to develop and implement a reporting framework for sovereigns Sovereign reporting needs its own approach and framework. A customized approach suited to the specifics of sovereign reporting is recommended. This could build on the core elements and underlying principles of existing corporate-focused frameworks such as the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). Other frameworks such as context-based performance accounting and reporting frameworks and environmental economic approaches could also be drawn upon, such as the UN System for Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework. Annex A to this report presents a draft example of a sovereign climate and nature risk and opportunities reporting framework as a starting point for discussion (noting that it is not intended as a fully developed template or blueprint).
Supporting Resilient Coastal Economies in Vietnam: PART A : Practical Guidance for Assessing the Value of Key Natural Assets in Coastal Areas

(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022) World Bank

Inclusive and environmentally sound sustainable development requires managing natural resources that societies depend on for the long term. In the context of marine and coastal resources which provide an important source of income for large numbers of households and revenue for countries, this implies balancing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the use of the natural resources in marine and coastal areas. The term “blue economy” is increasingly being used to describe this balanced approach. For coastal countries such as Vietnam, the importance of its marine economy is well known. The country has used the goods and services provided by the natural assets in its near-shore and coastal areas – including fisheries, mangroves, wetlands, lagoons, and sandy beaches – for tourism, production of seafood, and controlling climate events that cause erosion and weathering. This report focuses on adapting guidance for the valuation of key natural assets in coastal areas to Vietnam’s context, considering data availability and the nature of the natural assets in the country. The content of the report was developed following efforts to value natural assets in coastal areas in selected locations in Vietnam with the intention of providing relevant guidance for scaling out such efforts and ensuring they are done in a systematic manner and can inform the implementation of the Marine Strategy to 2030 with a view to 2045.
Uzbekistan: Choosing an Innovative and Green Future

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-01) World Bank ; Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan ; United Nations Development Programme

Uzbekistan has a unique opportunity to make early investments to ‘green’ its ambitious economic and market transition. A greener economic growth model in Uzbekistan, based on the sustainable and efficient use of natural and energy resources, would minimize pollution, reduce climate and environmental impacts, and strengthen resilience to natural disasters and climate change. It would allow the country to overcome limits to growth under its present development pattern by capturing the dynamics between transformative technology and natural capital, delivering growth and create jobs while improving sustainability, resilience, and inclusion. A greener growth model could also help strengthen Uzbekistan’s economic competitiveness in a more climate- and environmentally aware global marketplace. Green growth involves economy-wide changes that call for strong policy coordination and an institutional and regulatory framework that cuts across sectors. Strong political commitment is key to managing sectoral tradeoffs and sustaining action over successive governments. It must be supported by objective technical advice, adequate data and analytics, knowledgeable staff in government, catalyzing finance, engaging the private sector, and a low-emission development strategy.
Indonesia Economic Prospects, December 2021: A Green Horizon - Toward a High Growth and Low Carbon Economy

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12-15) World Bank

The Indonesia Economic Prospects (IEP) is a bi-annual World Bank report that assesses recent macroeconomic developments, outlook and risks, as well as specific development challenges for the Indonesian economy. In doing so, the IEP aims to inform the public policy debate and is geared towards a wide audience, including the general public, the government, the private sector, civil society organizations, and other domestic and international stakeholders.
Russia and Global Green Transition: Risks and Opportunities

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12-07) Makarov, Igor ; Besley, Daniel ; Hasan, Dudu ; Boratynski, Jakub ; Chepeliev, Maksym ; Golub, Elena ; Nemova, Vladislava ; Stepanov, Ilya

Greener economic development in Russia will allow the country to overcome the limits of its current fossil fuel-dependent growth model. It can deliver prosperity to Russia’s citizens that is more sustainable and more resilient to external shocks in a rapidly changing global economy. The choices toward carbon neutrality made by an increasing number of countries and companies bring a new wave of uncertainty to the value of fossil fuel assets. This uncertainty is likely to result in lower and more volatile revenue from exports of hydrocarbons and energy-intensive industrial products.
Green Public Procurement: An Overview of Green Reforms in Country Procurement Systems

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11-04) World Bank

This report provides an overview of international experience in the implementation of Green Public Procurement (GPP). It focuses on the institutional framework that is needed to support the mainstreaming of GPP practices across government. The intention is to equip practitioners with a broad understanding of the issues they need to consider in the design and implementation of GPP reforms. The report draws on a wide range of country examples. It provides links to handbooks and tools for practitioners.
Striking the Right Note: Key Performance Indicators for Sovereign Sustainability-Linked Bonds

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11) Flugge, Mark L. ; Mok, Rachel C.K. ; Stewart, Fiona E.

The framework presented in the report is intended to bridge the gap between what sovereign investors will view as appropriately ambitious actions and what issuing countries see as achievable targets. The framework is intended to help investors with their decision-making and can inform Ministries of Finance and their debt management offices (DMOs) about what investors want to know regarding their country’s sustainability performance. The report findings may also inform creation of financial instruments and market analyses beyond sovereign sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) and are relevant for a broad range of stakeholders. These include regulators, credit rating agencies, academics, as well as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society groups which can be affected by the types of indicators selected and outcomes of government policies.