Publication: Financing Mechanisms for Addressing Remediation of Site Contamination
Loading...
Date
2014-10
ISSN
Published
2014-10
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Industrial and commercial facilities provide great economic benefit to communities throughout the world. Unfortunately, many industries use or have used practices and materials which have proven toxic to the environment and to those who live and work near contaminated sites. The definition and degree of contamination varies at national and regional levels of government, but leaders throughout the world now recognize the hazard that contaminated industrial and service sites present to the wellbeing of their communities and seek innovative ways to finance the remediation of these challenging sites. Industrial contamination can have a severe, direct impact on adjacent communities. The cleanup and redevelopment of a so-called brownfield can improve a community s economy, provide an opportunity for habitat restoration, and create public space. Cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields can be an effective economic development strategy, with benefits seen in two timeframes. First, there is an immediate and one-time capital expenditure for cleanup activities, infrastructure, and construction. The initial investment generates tax revenues, temporary family-wage jobs, and indirect economic benefits within the community. Secondly, there is a long-term economic impact from remediation projects in the form of higher property values, long-term tax revenues, and the attraction of external capital to the community by tenants of the revitalized property. The economic benefit of contaminated site redevelopment is perhaps most clearly illustrated by permanent job creation from the restored properties. The deleterious effects of industrial contamination across all facets of a community typically provide a strong incentive for leaders to seek financing mechanisms that make site remediation possible.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2014. Financing Mechanisms for Addressing Remediation of Site Contamination. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21098 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Developing a Regulatory Framework for Municipal Borrowing in India(World Bank, New Delhi, 2011-09)This report provides an overview of the municipal debt market as it exists and has evolved over the past ten years. It provides an assessment of trends and patterns from both bank and bond sources covering all types of municipal governments. The overall objective of the work is to assess the regulatory environment pertaining to municipal borrowing in the country and to generate recommendations to improve this in a manner which expands municipal access to private debt finance while ensuring that risk is appropriately allocated and properly priced. More particularly, this report: 1) outlines the need and rationale for expanding access to credit finance on part of municipalities in India; 2) provides an overview of the existing municipal debt market; 3) provides an overview of the chief characteristics of the regulatory environment pertaining to municipal borrowing in India, places the existing regulatory system in international context, and outlines a suggested overall direction for reform; and 4) provides specific recommendations to improve the regulatory regimes over which the state and union governments have respective control.Publication Microfinance Institutions and Credit Unions in Albania : Regulatory, Supervisory and Market Development Issues(Washington, DC, 2008-06-17)The objective of this report is to present an assessment of the current legal, regulatory, and supervisory framework in Albania for microfinance, as well as an assessment of institutions rendering microfinance services (MFIs), including the Savings and Credit Associations (SCAs) and credit unions (CUs), to identify future development priorities. Economic conditions have improved in Albania in recent years, but a significant percentage of the population is still considered below the poverty level. The report lists future development priorities for the SCAs and MFIs, emphasizing poverty reduction through microfinancing. Several MFIs, and one CU, expressed some desire to borrow from the World Bank. The report finds this promising, as long as it does not crowd out commercial sources that serve to integrate MFIs, CUs, and SCAs into the larger financial sector. The growth of SCAs might be enhanced by further consolidation of smaller SCAs into larger SCAs. Mergers based on joint objectives and bounds can expand the geographical coverage and clientele base, facilitate the increase of cash flows and access to capital, and achieve economies of scale in view of reducing fixed costs. Albania also wishes to obtain a banking license and focus exclusively on the microfinance market. A tax exemption enables CUs and SCAs to build up capital through retained earnings. Eliminating their tax exemption would either reduce their capital, or require that CUs replace the taxed earnings with other means of capitalization to maintain the same capital reserves. The report recommends that the Bank of Albania (BoA) should continue to work with the CUs on consolidating and strengthening the SCAs.Publication Western Balkans : Scaling Up Energy Efficiency in Buildings(Washington, DC, 2014-06)Within the six countries of the Western Balkans, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, energy efficiency (EE) is increasingly seen as a key pillar in national energy strategies, helping to enhance energy security, contribute to economic growth, and ensure environmental sustainability. This is for several reasons. EE can reduce the region's heavy reliance on expensive imports, enhance competitiveness and job creation, and reduce the impact of widespread fossil fuel use. EE can also bring important social benefits, helping to improve local air quality (mitigating related adverse health impacts), improve indoor comfort levels through improved heating, and make energy more affordable for low-income families. Finally, EE is seen as a critical tool in helping to mitigate the effects of necessary and planned tariff reforms by offsetting the higher energy costs to the entire economy. To realize these benefits, the Western Balkans countries will have to shift from broad policies and small-scale pilots to scaled-up financing and implementation. There is an urgent need to develop viable financing models in all sectors, as well as suitable delivery mechanisms, information systems, and necessary secondary legislation, in order to meet national targets and fuel economic development in a more sustainable manner. Buildings, which account for almost half of energy use in the regions, have been identified as a key sector in all of the country EE plans.Publication Assessment of the Viability of PPPs and Sub-national Lending in Ghana(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-03)In 2011 the Ghanaian government issued a policy establishing Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the purpose of implementing infrastructure projects and improving the capacity of services provision. A World Bank Mission visited Ghana early in 2012 to assess the legal and practical feasibility of participation in PPPs at the sub-national level of the Government and the possibility that private commercial banks can provide non-sovereign financing to such PPPs. This report will present a summary of the available information on local governments and financial markets in Ghana, and identify potential infrastructure investments that could later be supported directly or indirectly by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) sub-national window, such as with bank guarantees, non sovereign loans, equity or other means. This report also discusses the legal framework for financial operations of SOEs.Publication The Sub Prime Crisis : Implications for Emerging Markets(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09)This paper discusses some of the key characteristics of the U.S. subprime mortgage boom and bust, contrasts them with characteristics of emerging mortgage markets, and makes recommendations for emerging market policy makers. The crisis has raised questions in the minds of many as to the wisdom of extending mortgage lending to low and moderate income households. It is important to note, however, that prior to the growth of subprime lending in the 1990s, U.S. mortgage markets already reached low and moderate-income households without taking large risks or suffering large losses. In contrast, in most emerging markets, mortgage finance is a luxury good, restricted to upper income households. As policy makers in emerging market seek to move lenders down market, they should adopt policies that include a variety of financing methods and should allow for rental or purchase as a function of the financial capacity of the household. Securitization remains a useful tool when developed in the context of well-aligned incentives and oversight. It is possible to extend mortgage lending down market without repeating the mistakes of the subprime boom and bust.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.