Publication: Responding to Climate Change : An Action Plan for the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean
Loading...
Published
2006-11
ISSN
Date
2012-08-13
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Climate change is a very serious environmental challenge that affects prospects for sustainable development. Since the Industrial Revolution, the mean surface temperature of Earth has increased an average of one degree Celsius per century mainly due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases (CHGs) in the atmosphere. Furthermore, most of this change has occurred in the past 30 to 40 years, and the rate of increase is accelerating. A change of this magnitude is unprecedented and will result in significant impacts both at a global scale, and for Latin America and the Caribbean in particular. This paper includes the following headings: impacts are unavoidable; international response; and opportunities to address climate change and local development.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Vergara, Walter. 2006. Responding to Climate Change : An Action Plan for the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean. en breve; No. 97. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10304 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Technical Guide to Actions on Global Warming and Clean Development Mechanism in Sri Lanka(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012)The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Government of Sri Lanka is the apex body under which all environmental issues and policy matters are addressed. The Global Affairs Division of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is tasked with formulating policy and strategic planning and liaise with the international organizations dealing with global environmental issues and is the Designated National Authority (DNA) for matters arising out of the Kyoto Protocol. Under the Kyoto protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) provides for Green House Gas (GHG) mitigation projects that contribute towards sustainable development in developing nations and the net emission reductions can be traded to a developed nation to meet its Kyoto obligations. The report begins with green house effect with GHG emissions and their contributions to global warming. To highlight the gravity of the problem various projections are presented on future climate change, extreme weather events, sea level rise and their impact on developing countries. It describes the global initiative to tackle climate change and specifically details the Kyoto protocol.Publication The Design and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Incentives : An Economic Analysis(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015)Rapid urbanization and economic growth, new demographic trends, and climate change are key challenges that developing countries must face as they strive to meet growing energy demand. The main objectives of this study are to offer: (a) a global taxonomy of the economic and financial incentives provided by renewable support schemes and (b) an economic modeling of the sustainability and affordability of such support schemes. In an attempt to contribute to the lively debate, this study provides a global taxonomy of the economic and financial incentives provided by renewable energy (RE) support schemes. It summarizes economic models of the sustainability and affordability of such support schemes, alongside operational advice on how the regulatory design may need to be modified to minimize the impact on the budget and be affordable to the poor, as well as how to identify and fill the financing gap. This analytical framework: (a) differentiates and illustrates tradeoffs among local, regional, and national impacts, in the short and long run; (b) captures distributional impacts (since subsidies to cover the incremental costs of RE may have very different beneficiaries); and (c) captures externalities and compares (where possible) alternative projects based on equivalent output and cost (comparing, for example, RE and energy efficiency projects against those using fossil fuels). The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents the analytical framework that underpins the case studies, and provides the background for the principal research hypothesis of this report, which is better attention to the principles of economic analysis and market efficiency leads to more sustainable and effective policies. Chapter s three to ten present country case studies for Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Egypt, Brazil, and Turkey. The conclusions of the study are presented in chapter eleven.Publication Thailand(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-09)Thailand needs to avoid the high-carbon growth path of many developed countries and, instead, take a low-carbon growth path. A green low-carbon growth path is in Thailand's own interest as it can simultaneously tackle local environmental degradation, global climate change, and energy security challenges. It can also position Thailand as a regional leader in green, sustainable growth. Green low-carbon growth in Thailand could focus on the following four pillars: 1) maintaining rapid economic growth while adjusting the country's economic structure toward a less energy, and carbon-intensive economy; 2) achieving greater urbanization while shifting toward green livable low-carbon cities; 3) meeting the huge thirst for energy while transforming the energy sector toward one of high energy efficiency and widespread diffusion of low-carbon technologies; and 4) improving quality of life while shifting toward a resource-efficient and sustainable lifestyle.Publication Existing and Potential Technologies for Carbon Emissions Reductions in the Indian Cement Industry : A Set of Technical Papers Produced for the Project 'Low Carbon Technology Road Map for the Indian Cement Industry'(Washington, DC, 2013-01)This set of technical papers was commissioned by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) members in India. CSI is a member-led program of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The report represents the independent work of the CII - Godrej Green Business Centre (CII, Godrej GBC), a center of excellence of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB). The author of each paper is shown after its title. It aims to identify, describe and evaluate technologies, which may contribute to increased energy efficiencies and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from cement production in India today and in the longer-term. The results have been reviewed by CII, NCB, CSI member companies and stakeholders like the International Energy Agency (IEA). All papers follow the same format, outlining the current status of the technology, the impact on energy consumption, anticipated benefits from implementation, the CO? reduction potential, main parameters influencing implementation, cost estimation, and the conditions, barriers and constraints of implementation. For the more futuristic technologies, where quantification is difficult, a qualitative summary is provided instead, indicating those technologies felt to be promising for future implementation and emissions reductions potential. In these papers, only the anticipated impact on energy consumption and barriers to further development can be shown. In every paper, a range of potential thermal and electrical savings is provided; this range has been reached through consultation with technical experts. Where INR costs are indicated, approximate USD equivalent costs have also been given, using exchange rate USD 1 = INR 50.Publication Clean Energy for Development Investment Framework : Progress Report on the World Bank Group Action Plan(Washington, DC, 2007-08)During the 2007 spring meetings, the development committee endorsed the World Bank Group's action plan on the Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF). This progress report is a response to the committee's request for an update on the implementation of the action plan for the annual meetings in October 2007. It summarizes accomplishments in the three areas of the action plan: 1) energy for growth, with a particular emphasis on access to energy in Sub-Saharan Africa; 2) transition to a low-carbon development trajectory; and 3) adaptation to the impacts of climate change. This report also outlines an approach to scaling up actions on climate change and provides a review of options to further reduce the financial barriers to support low-carbon and adaptive growth in developing countries. This Progress Report provides an update on the implementation of the CEIF action plan.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The World Bank Group in Tanzania, Fiscal Years 2012–22(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-22)This evaluation assesses the relevance and effectiveness of the World Bank Group's support to Tanzania between Fiscal Years 2012 and 2022. Over the past decade, Tanzania has experienced resilient growth, with an average annual per capita GDP increase of 2.2%. However, poverty remains widespread and slow to decline, underscoring the need for more inclusive growth. The report examines the Bank Group's strategic and operational approaches during this period, which were aligned with Tanzania's development priorities and focused on industrialization, human development, and public sector reforms. The evaluation includes thematic chapters on the Bank Group's support for private sector-led growth and spatial transformation, as well as lessons to inform future support to the country.Publication FY 2025 China Country Opinion Survey Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-04)The Country Opinion Survey in China assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in better understanding how stakeholders in China perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in China on 1) their views regarding the general environment in China; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in China; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in China; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in China.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication The World Bank Group in Georgia, 2014-23(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-30)This Country Program Evaluation assesses the performance and effectiveness of the World Bank Group’s support to Georgia in achieving the country’s development objectives. In the decade leading up to the evaluation period, Georgia pursued economic reforms to attract critical investments for becoming a regional trade and transport hub. Ambitious economic reforms went hand in hand with efforts to improve human development and strengthening social protection systems. Growing geopolitical tensions and internal political polarization have challenged Georgia’s reform progress in recent years. The Bank Group’s strategy adapted well to Georgia’s development needs and was well coordinated with other development partners. It successfully employed a range of instruments to help increase competitiveness, growth, and job creation, and effectively contributed to improved infrastructure and increased trade by using programmatic and innovative approaches. The Bank Group’s regular investments in analytical work and the switch to results-based programmatic support helped improve the efficiency and effectiveness of education and health care systems. The IEG offers the following lessons based on the evidence and analysis in the Country Program Evaluation: (i) Prioritizing Bank Group support around the move towards deeper regional integration was an effective anchor for key economic reforms for economic convergence. (ii) Pursuing a selective and adaptive approach in a country with high implementation capacity and institutions, strong coordination among development partners, and access to a wide range of external resources can allow the Bank Group to exercise significant influence in areas of comparative advantage and global expertise. (iii) A stronger focus on outcome-based programmatic approaches helped to build local capacity and crowd-in partner financing.Publication Corruption as a Push and Pull Factor of Migration Flows(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-09-14)Conclusive evidence on the relationship between corruption and migration has remained scant in the literature to date. Using data from 2008 to 2018 on bilateral migration flows across European Union and European Free Trade Association countries and four measures of corruption, this paper shows that corruption acts as both a push factor and a pull factor for migration patterns. Based on a gravity model, a one-unit increase in the corruption level in the origin country is associated with a 11 percent increase in out-migration. The same one-unit increase in the destination country is associated with a 10 percent decline in in-migration.