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....

This handbook has been developed to provide instruction on the design and implementation of incentives for resource-efficiency purposes. The target audience is World Bank staff and stakeholders who are supporting the implementation of a resource-efficiency program in a country on behalf of the...

The initial hours and days after a humanitarian emergency are generally seen as the most important. Because they affect the rapid deployment of relief to people in need, international trade policies, and the way in which they are implemented, can make an enormous difference to the effectiveness...

The impacts of climate change will be channeled primarily through the water cycle, with consequences that could be large and uneven across the globe. Water-related climate risks cascade through food, energy, urban, and environmental systems. Growing populations, rising incomes, and expanding...

There is growing evidence that financially inclusive countries are more financially stable and exhibit better micro- and macro-economic conditions conducive to financial well-being of individual consumers. In order to produce significant economic and societal benefits, financial inclusion needs...

This paper presents the main findings of the 2017 survey on national development banks that the World Bank conducted in collaboration with the World Federation of Development Financing Institutions. Sixty-four development banks from different parts of the world, mainly from middle-income...

The World Bank Group (WBG) has long recognized that the restoration and preservationof cultural heritage, urban regeneration, and sustainable tourism can play a vital role in developing countries' efforts to promote local economic development, accelerate social integration, and alleviate...

This joint report by the World Bank and OECD identifies building blocks for more effective co-operation and is the first comprehensive global study of its kind. The content of the report is based on responses from 67 countries to a survey, which examined the organizational structure for...

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...

The objectives of a well-designed pension system are poverty reduction in old age and income smoothing throughout an individuals' lifetime. Over the last thirty years, changing demographic trends have caused a shift from 'pay as you go' and occupational defined benefit (DB) schemes - where the...