Massive investment is needed in infrastructure to achieve the transition to clean energy and create resilience against the impacts of global warming. The scale of investment – as much as $9 trillion per year – exceeds the capabilities of public finance and will rely on aligning private sector financing. Green or climate bonds seem an obvious instrument for the task – are they the killer solution?
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation are established human rights. Yet, halfway through the Water Action Decade, billions of people are still denied them. This year, nations have pledged to drive transformation to a water-secure world, and must now urgently act on their promises
The EU’s unilateral approach to curb deforestation through restrictions on imports sends a powerful message, but will it deliver? Here, the authors argue that successful global action on deforestation calls for a carefully balanced system of tariffs and subsidies from a wider coalition of countries
For the developed world, increasingly there appears to be only one existential crisis in town: climate change. Achieving the broader agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands deep reform of the international financial system and urgent recalibration of political will
Rapid urbanization is placing unprecedented strain on the life-critical resources of water, energy, and food. We need rapid take-up of coordinated (or “nexus”) approaches to urban development and resource management if we’re to make sustainable cities a reality
In this digital age, over two billion people worldwide still lack internet access. With progress on the SDGs way off course, we must ramp up access to, and application of, digital technologies – including AI – to get Agenda 2030 back on track
At current progress rates, 1.6 billion people will lack safely managed drinking water by 2030. Ramping up financial and political investment in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene, particularly in the world’s poorest countries and in the face of climate change, is now essential for achieving the SDGs
Each year, trillions of dollars are poured into harmful fossil fuel subsidies or tax breaks that undermine our progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Shifting these funds to fuel the clean energy transition would accelerate access to basic energy services, improve public health, and put the world on a safer climate trajectory
With the right conditions, blended finance – combining public and private financing to incentivize increased investment from new sources – could bridge the funding gaps necessary to achieve the SDGs. How can we realize this huge investment potential before it’s too late?
Progress on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been significant but uneven. If we want to accelerate delivery, we need to apply the lessons learned from climate finance
