Your day in the future. You cook breakfast every morning on an electric induction stove. It is powered, as all appliances in your home, by the solar panels on your roof. To go to work, you take your e-bike or the tram that a wind farm powers outside the city—just another Tuesday with a zero-carbon footprint. And here is the best part: you can afford it. Electricity is so cheap … [Read more...] about Powering everything with renewable electricity will be cheaper and cleaner. Can governments accelerate the transition?
Walkable cities and electric mobility would mean cheaper transport and cleaner air. Can governments deliver?
Picture this. Instead of being stuck in traffic jams, you spend time with family or play football with friends. Instead of spending money on car bills and gasoline, you spend it on a healthy dinner or save it for your next holiday. And instead of getting sick from inhaling fumes and forgetting your city overlooks the Andes, you breathe fresh air and see blue skies. This is … [Read more...] about Walkable cities and electric mobility would mean cheaper transport and cleaner air. Can governments deliver?
How do we rethink water planning in the face of a future shaped by climate change?
We live in a world full of uncertainties. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine are but two of the last examples. Climate change similarly comes with uncertainties, and we are seeing it with what happened in Texas in the last winter for instance: an unexpected change of “normal” climate conditions generated a serious humanitarian crisis due to the collapse of the power … [Read more...] about How do we rethink water planning in the face of a future shaped by climate change?
Rethinking private financing of climate action with Chile
A central theme of the talks at the Glasgow climate summit is how countries can mobilize the private sector to finance decarbonization. In a workshop that the IDB group organized with Fundación Chile yesterday , we discussed some solutions – beyond green financial regulations, concessional climate funds, and carbon markets – that are often overlooked in … [Read more...] about Rethinking private financing of climate action with Chile
How can we plan for agriculture and land-use policies consistent with net-zero emissions development?
The entire GDP of Thailand. That is what governments globally spend every year on harmful agriculture subsidies. That is 470 billion dollars per year that incentivize the overuse of fertilizers, water, or expansion of agricultural land into other ecosystems, with associated costs on the environment and the health of farmers and consumers. This recent finding from a joint UN-FAO … [Read more...] about How can we plan for agriculture and land-use policies consistent with net-zero emissions development?