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Can green growth really work and what are the true (socio-) economics of climate change?
Hoffmann Ulrich - United Nations, 2015This paper argues that growth, technological, population-expansion and governance constraints as well as some key systemic issues cast doubt ‘green growth’ hopes.
It argues that such an evolutionary (and often reductionist) approach may well not be sufficient to cope with the complexities of climate change. It may rather give much false hope and excuses to do nothing really fundamental that should bring about a turn around on global GHG emissions.
The paper argues that climate change calls into question the global equality of opportunity for prosperity and is thus ...
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Available online: http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=73269
Published by: United Nations ; 2015
This paper argues that growth, technological, population-expansion and governance constraints as well as some key systemic issues cast doubt ‘green growth’ hopes.
It argues that such an evolutionary (and often reductionist) approach may well not be sufficient to cope with the complexities of climate change. It may rather give much false hope and excuses to do nothing really fundamental that should bring about a turn around on global GHG emissions.
The paper argues that climate change calls into question the global equality of opportunity for prosperity and is thus a huge developmental challenge for all countries, but particularly for the global South and a question of life and death for some developing countries.Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Climate change ; Green economy ; Social and Economic development ; Developing countries
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Keeping track of adaptation actions in Africa: targeted fiscal stimulus actions making a difference
This report argues that investment in climate change adaptation can help ensure that the impacts of climate change do not reverse decades of development progress in Africa.
It presents practical examples of successful low-cost adaptation solutions from around sub-Saharan Africa. The report includes examples of successful adaptation projects that have provided the impetus for large-scale government investments and policy action. According to the report, by 2050 Africa's population will have doubled to 2 billion people, the majority of which will still largely depend on agriculture for th ...
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Available online: http://apps.unep.org/publications/index.php?option=com_pmtdata&task=download&fil [...]
Published by: UNDP ; 2014
This report argues that investment in climate change adaptation can help ensure that the impacts of climate change do not reverse decades of development progress in Africa.
It presents practical examples of successful low-cost adaptation solutions from around sub-Saharan Africa. The report includes examples of successful adaptation projects that have provided the impetus for large-scale government investments and policy action. According to the report, by 2050 Africa's population will have doubled to 2 billion people, the majority of which will still largely depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. The first part of the report provides snapshots of the current and predicted future impacts of climate change on livelihoods, agriculture, and human and ecosystem health in Africa, detailing impacts by region, country and city. The second half of the report describes how countries through low-cost climate adaptation actions can improve the health and functioning of ecosystems; build community capacity to sustainably manage ecosystems; improve agricultural productivity; and innovatively store water.Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Climate change ; Adaptation ; Water accessibility ; Social and Economic development ; Region I - Africa
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Global megatrend update: 6 From a unipolar to a multipolar world
EEA, 2013In 2010, the EEA produced its first assessment of global megatrends as part of its five-yearly assessment of the European environment’s state, trend and prospects (SOER 2010). In preparation for SOER 2015, the EEA is updating each of the megatrends, providing a more detailed analysis based on the latest data. This publication is one of the 11 updates being published separately in the second half of 2013 and early-2014. In 2014 the chapters will be consolidated into a single EEA technical report, which will provide the basis for the analysis of megatrends included in SOER 2015.
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Available online: http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/global-megatrend-6-update/at_download/file
Published by: EEA ; 2013
In 2010, the EEA produced its first assessment of global megatrends as part of its five-yearly assessment of the European environment’s state, trend and prospects (SOER 2010). In preparation for SOER 2015, the EEA is updating each of the megatrends, providing a more detailed analysis based on the latest data. This publication is one of the 11 updates being published separately in the second half of 2013 and early-2014. In 2014 the chapters will be consolidated into a single EEA technical report, which will provide the basis for the analysis of megatrends included in SOER 2015.
Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Environment and landscape ; Social and Economic development ; Urban zone
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Global megatrend update: 5 Continued economic growth?
EEA, 2013In 2010, the EEA produced its first assessment of global megatrends as part of its five-yearly assessment of the European environment’s state, trend and prospects (SOER 2010). In preparation for SOER 2015, the EEA is updating each of the megatrends, providing a more detailed analysis based on the latest data. This publication is one of the 11 updates being published separately in the second half of 2013 and early-2014. In 2014 the chapters will be consolidated into a single EEA technical report, which will provide the basis for the analysis of megatrends included in SOER 2015.
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Available online: http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/global-megatrend-5-continued-economic-grow [...]
Published by: EEA ; 2013
In 2010, the EEA produced its first assessment of global megatrends as part of its five-yearly assessment of the European environment’s state, trend and prospects (SOER 2010). In preparation for SOER 2015, the EEA is updating each of the megatrends, providing a more detailed analysis based on the latest data. This publication is one of the 11 updates being published separately in the second half of 2013 and early-2014. In 2014 the chapters will be consolidated into a single EEA technical report, which will provide the basis for the analysis of megatrends included in SOER 2015.
Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Environment and landscape ; Social and Economic development ; Urban zone
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The demography of adaptation to climate change
UNFPA, 2013The document consolidates the knowledge, methods, and practices that emerged from the 2010 expert group meeting entitled "Population Dynamics and Climate Change II: Building for Adaptation" organized by UNFPA, IIED and the Colegio de México in Mexico City.
It intends to catalyze action in global, national and local communities around a more informed, data driven adaptation process, and to bring together disparate disciplines, from environment science to planning to social science and beyond. The use of spatial data is at the core of this agenda.
It is divided in ...
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Available online: https://www.unfpa.org/publications/demography-adaptation-climate-change
Colegio de México, A.C. ; International Institute for Environment and Development ; United Nations Population Fund
Published by: UNFPA ; 2013The document consolidates the knowledge, methods, and practices that emerged from the 2010 expert group meeting entitled "Population Dynamics and Climate Change II: Building for Adaptation" organized by UNFPA, IIED and the Colegio de México in Mexico City.
It intends to catalyze action in global, national and local communities around a more informed, data driven adaptation process, and to bring together disparate disciplines, from environment science to planning to social science and beyond. The use of spatial data is at the core of this agenda.
It is divided into three sections: (i) population dynamics and adaptation, key concepts and perspectives; (ii) population data for adaptation, sources and methodologies; and (iii) the planning and practice of adaptation.Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)ISBN (or other code): 978-0-89714-001-0
Tags: Climate change ; Adaptation ; Case/ Case study ; Urban zone ; Social and Economic development ; Malawi ; Viet Nam ; India ; Mexico ; Brazil
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Climate Change, growth, and Poverty in Ethiopia
Climate change is now a global phenomenon with growth, poverty, food security, and stability implications. Because of significant dependence on the agricultural sector for production, employment, and export revenues, Ethiopia is seriously threatened by climate change, which contributes to frequent drought, flooding, and rising average temperatures. To examine the impact of climate change on agricultural production and to quantify the resulting lost output, this study conducts a time series analysis using country and regional level data. The econometric application on the appropriate production ...
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Human Development Report 2013 - The Rise of the South : Human Progress in a Diverse World
UNDP, 2013The 2013 Human Development Report, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World looks at the evolving geopolitics of our times, examining emerging issues and trends and also the new actors which are shaping the development landscape. The Report argues that the striking transformation of a large number of developing countries into dynamic major economies with growing political influence is having a significant impact on human development progress. The Report notes that, over the last decade, all countries accelerated their achievements in the education, health, and income d ...
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Water and the green economy : capacity development aspects
The aim of this book is to give special attention to the needs related to capacity development for water resources management, including water supply and sanitation, in the context of the green economy. This is done by showcasing theoretical and practical approaches which have proved to be successful.
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Satellite Feature Identification: Cyclogenesis
This lesson, Satellite Feature Identification: Cyclogenesis, uses water vapor satellite imagery to present a satellite perspective of basic features associated with the formation and development of extratropical cyclones. First, through an initial case study, the precursor elements leading to cyclogenesis are identified. Then three conceptual views of different ways cyclogenesis can evolve are presented along with additional examples to illustrate the concepts. Finally a series of exercises, again using real case studies, are used to emphasize the important points and provide realistic scenari ...
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Fragile States 2013: Resource flows and trends in fragile states
By 2015, half of the world’s people living on less than USD 1.25 a day will be in fragile states. While poverty has decreased globally, progress on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 is slower in fragile states than in other developing countries. Fragile states are also off-track to meet the rest of the MDGs by 2015.
Fragile situations became a central concern of the international development and security agenda in the 1990s. Since then, powerful forces have been influencing the causes and manifestations of fragility, including the combination of democratic aspirations, new te ...
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An exploration of the link between development, economic growth, and natural risk
This paper investigates the link between development, economic growth, and the economic losses from natural disasters in a general analytical framework, with an application to hurricane flood risks in New Orleans. It concludes that where capital accumulates through increased density of capital at risk in a given area, and the costs of protection therefore increase more slowly than capital at risk, (i) protection improves over time and the probability of disaster occurrence decreases; (ii) capital at risk -- and thus economic losses in case of disaster -- increases faster than economic growth; ...
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Infrastructure for development: meeting the challenge
Bhattacharya Amar; Romani Mattia; Stern Nicholas - Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, 2012
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The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012
United Nations, 2012Three important targets on poverty, slums and water have been met three years ahead of 2015, says this year’s Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, is possible ─ but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago.
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Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement 2012
Nations Unies, 2012Le rapport de 2011 souligne des avancées réelles dans la réalisation des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement notamment un déclin de la pauvreté dans le monde, reflété par un accès à l’éducation plus poussé et un recul de la mortalité infantile. Qui plus est, l’accès à l’eau potable s’est généralisé malgré l’isolement de certaines régions comme en Afrique subsaharienne, où les populations les plus pauvres en milieu rural – les plus vulnérables - sont souvent les plus dures à atteindre.
Face aux disparités demeurantes, ce rapport n’est pas sans rappeler l’engagement réitéré en s ...
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Los servicios climáticos pueden invertir la espiral descendente. Caso práctico: Haití
Los servicios climáticos son fundamentales para respaldar el esfuerzo de Haití de reconstruir el país, tras las devastadoras consecuencias del terremoto que tuvo lugar a principios de este año.
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How economic growth and rational decisions can make disaster losses grow faster than wealth
Hallegatte Stéphane - World Bank, 2011Assuming that capital productivity is higher in areas at risk from natural hazards (such as coastal zones or flood plains), this paper shows that rapid development in these areas—and the resulting increase in disaster losses—may be the consequence of a rational and well-informed trade-off between lower disaster losses and higher productivity. With disasters possibly becoming less frequent but increasingly destructive in the future, average disaster losses may grow faster than wealth. Myopic expectations, lack of information, moral hazard, and externalities reinforce the likelihood of this scen ...
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Policy Research Working Paper, 5617. How economic growth and rational decisions can make disaster losses grow faster than wealth
Assuming that capital productivity is higher in areas at risk from natural hazards (such as coastal zones or flood plains), this paper shows that rapid development in these areas -- and the resulting increase in disaster losses -- may be the consequence of a rational and well-informed trade-off between lower disaster losses and higher productivity. With disasters possibly becoming less frequent but increasingly destructive in the future, average disaster losses may grow faster than wealth. Myopic expectations, lack of information, moral hazard, and externalities reinforce the likelihood of thi ...
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Dimensions of Inclusive Development: In Poverty in Focus No 23
UNDP, 2011"The latest issue of the Poverty in Focus magazine, published by the International Policy Centre (IPC) of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), looks at the inter-related dimensions of growth, gender, poverty and environment, including climate change mitigation and adaptation related issues."
Source: http://climate-l.iisd.org
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Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure : guidance for Practitioners and Planners
UNDP, 2011The guide is part of a series of publications for decision makers in developing countries on how to design, finance and implement effective actions to address climate change. It is based on the outcome of the Conference on Strategies for Adapting Public and Private Infrastructure to Climate Change held in El Salvador in 2010, as a response to the impacts caused by extreme weather events in Central America.
The guide emphasizes the development benefits of climate-proofing infrastructure. It notes that adapting infrastructure to the risks of climate change reduces the loss of live ...
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Human Development Report 2011 - Sustainability and equity: a better future for all
UNDP, 2011This Report explores the integral links between environmental sustainability and equity and shows that these are critical to expanding human freedoms for people today and in generations to come. The point of departure is that the remarkable progress in human development over recent decades that the Human Development Report has documented cannot continue without bold global steps to reduce environmental risks and inequality. We identify pathways for people, communities, countries and the international community to promote environmental sustainability and equity in mutually reinforcing ways.
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Thematic highlight - Water : (Cambodia Human Development Report 2011)
UNDP, 2011Water is fundamental to all aspects of human and economic development, encompassing agriculture, fi sheries, forestry, health and disasters. The central importance of water for meeting social and economic development objectives and the anticipated impacts of climate change are such that across the globe, many of the eff ects of climate change will be felt through water (World Bank 2010). This is especially true for Cambodia.
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UNDP - Green LECRDS Guidance Manuals and Toolkits, 9. Catalyzing Climate Finance : a Guidebook on Policy and Financing Options to Support Green, Low-Emission and Climate-Resilient Development
UNDP, 2011This guidebook is offered as a primer to countries to enable them to better assess the level and nature of assistance they will require to catalyze climate capital based on their unique set of national, regional and local circumstances.
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The poverty impacts of climate change : a review of the evidence
Climate change is believed to represent a serious challenge to poverty reduction efforts around the globe. This paper conducts an up-to-date review of three main strands of the literature analyzing the poverty impacts of climate change : (i) economy-wide growth models incorporating climate change impacts to work out consistent scenarios for how climate change might affect the path of poverty over the next decades; (ii) studies focusing on the poverty impacts of climate change in the agricultural sector; and (iii) studies exploring how past climate variability impacts poverty. The analysis find ...
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Energy Security in South America and Southern Africa: Synthesis Report
This briefing stems from a project that focused on electricity supply and the extent to which it’s traded within Southern Africa and South America. Within this the current and projected regional energy production mixes were established and since concerns over climate change are finding their way into many aspects of economic growth and development the project also explored the role that the regional ‘anchor states’ (South Africa and Brazil respectively) are likely to play in securing the future balance in light of climate change and related mitigation imperatives.
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Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio - Informe de 2011
Naciones Unidas, 2011Desde que fueron aprobados, los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM) han promovido la concienciación y han generado una visión más amplia, que sigue siendo el marco de referencia global de las actividades de desarrollo de las Naciones Unidas.
El presente informe se basa en una serie de datos originales reunidos por el Grupo Interinstitucional y de Expertos sobre los indicadores de los ODM, bajo la coordinación del Departamento de Asuntos Económicos y Sociales de la Secretaría de las Naciones Unidas, en respuesta a la petición de la Asamblea General de que se realicen evalu ...
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