Biomass combustion with traditional cookstoves causes substantial environmental and health harm. Nontraditional cookstove technologies can be efficacious in reducing this adverse impact, but they are adopted and used at puzzlingly low rates. This study analyzes the determinants of low demand for nontraditional cookstoves in rural Bangladesh by using both stated preference (from a nationally representative survey of rural women) and revealed preference (assessed by conducting a cluster-randomized trial of cookstove prices) approaches. The authors find consistent evidence across both analyses suggesting that the women in rural Bangladesh do not perceive indoor air pollution as a significant health hazard, prioritize other basic developmental needs over nontraditional cookstoves, and overwhelmingly rely on a free traditional cookstove technology and are therefore not willing to pay much for a new nontraditional cookstove.
This report was prepared in accordance with the “Environment for Europe” (EfE) Reform Plan to support the work of the Seventh EfE Ministerial Conference. It follows the agreed questions for discussion in the multi-stakeholder round tables, describing recent trends, challenges and achievements, as well as recommendations for the way forward.
The document was developed jointly by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme to support Conference discussions on this topic of the agenda. The International Labour Organization provided two case studies. The document also reflects comments received from member States.
Over the past decade, Asia and the Pacific has made significant progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, accelerating climate change is threatening to reverse these gains, and those who are already economically and socially vulnerable are likely to suffer soonest and most. To enable member countries cope with the inevitable impacts already locked into the climate system, as well as to transition them to low-carbon economies, ADB is working with urgency to put in place integrated solutions that will address both the causes and consequences of climate change in the region.
In 2009 to August 2011, ADB’s climate change-related interventions span a total of more than 110 projects, involving an investment of about $10 billion. During the same period, ADB has also provided more than $245 million in technical assistance to improve knowledge and capacities, support policy and institutional development, and ensure the feasibility of investments related to climate change.
This paper, prepared at the request of G20 Finance Ministers, explores options to scale up finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The paper looks into sources of public finance, including carbon-linked fiscal instruments as well as other sources of revenues; policies and instruments to leverage private and multinational flows, including carbon markets, other instruments to engage private finance and multilateral development bank leverage; and concludes by monitoring and tracking climate finance flows.
This document sets out a framework for evaluating the implementation of environmental provisions in Regional Trade Agreements. The checklist approach to the evaluation of countries‘ experience of implementation complements the OECD‘s Checklist for Negotiators (2008). Among the issues addressed are institutional arrangements, co-operation, capacity building, public participation, resolution of differences and assessment.
The green growth concept has both strategic and analytical merit. It has strategic merit by turning a negative debate about a costly constraint (on emissions) into a narrative about potentially attractive opportunities. Authors like Barrett believe that this might change the dynamics of the international negotiations.
Analytically, green growth applies a new, richer and more diverse set of economic tools to a burning issue. This has implications on policy design. The ‘green growth’ narrative reinforces, rather than diminishes, the need for collective action. The economic opportunities that green growth may bring do depend on a joint understanding by a sufficiently large number of players that this is the way to go. This makes green growth a classic collective action problem.