SDG-related initiatives are increasingly under attack from the more right-wing, populist parts of the political spectrum, who portray the Goals as misguided, wasteful, vain, and coercive. How can cities and local governments enhance their policymaking and implementation, and – crucially – secure buy-in to ensure initiatives achieve their intended outcomes?
Figures on official development assistance volumes are silent about ODA results. To support progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we urgently need new data and holistic evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness of ODA
The pandemic revealed how rapid crisis spending creates profiteering opportunities for exploitative and corrupt actors. Strengthening anti-corruption measures is urgently needed to ensure that the anticipated investment surge toward achieving Agenda 2030 truly benefits the planet’s most vulnerable
The international financial system faces complex challenges in advancing women’s well-being and opportunities in low-income countries. What is the World Bank doing to help empower women?
Global
COP28 is a pivotal moment for the Paris Agreement. The first global stocktake presents a comprehensive view of progress towards the goals of the agreement. The synthesis report released in September makes it clear we are falling well short. The science is clear and, collectively, we have the knowledge and resources to deliver. Now it is time for political leaders to unite behind a common plan to address the climate crisis
Scratch beneath the surface, and so-called green investments often reveal to be contributing to environmentally harmful activities. With voluntary pledges shown wanting, governments and regulators must urgently mandate for better transparency and accountability in sustainable investing
Critics of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s focus on production-based emissions argue that it ignores “carbon leakage.” How might a consumption-based approach, looking beyond national borders, improve climate mitigation strategies?
Global
The promise of trillion-dollar sustainable finance initiatives rests on a triple fallacy: that we can make sense of them, that they are a measure of money that is available to finance or support climate-related causes, and that someone has structured and organized control over these amounts. It’s time to accept their extremely limited utility and move on
With their unwavering gaze from above, satellites are an increasingly powerful tool to identify and monitor anthropogenic emissions, right down to pinpointing individual sites. Using this data to inform policy and direct climate action everywhere must be an urgent global priority
As temperatures creep higher, extreme weather events are becoming the new normal. What should we expect as we approach 1.5°C, and how can governments and wider society prepare?
