The Paris Agreement provides a framework for all countries - both developed and developing - to voluntarily adopt individual targets, elaborated in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). This effectively introduces commitments on the country in the sectors covered by their NDCs....

Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is fundamental to the mitigation of climate change. It has become increasingly important to estimate and report on GHG emissions to enable the implementation of mitigation measures to limit or reduce total emissions. In most cases, such estimation is...

By 2050, two-thirds of the planet's population will live in urban centers, and nearly 90 percentof the 2.5 billion new urban dwellers will live in Africa and Asia. The world's urban areas wereresponsible for around 70 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2013, and that numbercould grow...

This working paper commissioned by the World Bank Carbon Markets and Innovation Practice (GCCMI) critically examines experience with carbon markets under the Kyoto protocol. The de facto end of the Kyoto Protocol and heralding of the Paris Agreement era has created the space for critical...

Chongqing is at a crossroads where its GDP per capita will reach a level at which cities typically decouple economic growth from energy and resource use, as well as associated carbon emissions and pollution. However, decoupling does not happen automatically. It requires cities to adopt green...

This evidence review is designed to support policy makers seeking to implement a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). It synthesizes the latest global evidence of effectiveness of SSB taxes and summarizes international experiences with SSB taxation to-date. SSBs are non-alcoholic beverages...

This retrospective examines how the World Bank's strategic use of climate-related trust funds has enabled it to play an outsized role in catalyzing climate action worldwide for nearly 30 years. By looking back at the history of climate and carbon finance, with a focus on the pioneering role of...

Results-based financing is a well-established financing modality in the health and education sectors but it is still in an early stage of deployment in the area of climate change. This report reviews 74 results-based climate financing (RBCF) programs implemented in developing countries with an...

Digitalization is increasing rapidly worldwide, requiring more energy, and resulting in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) two thirds of the world's population are now online. Estimates of the internet and communication technology (ICT)...