This paper highlights some of the critical operational, financial, and governance obstacles facing multilateral development banks (MDBs) to provoke new thinking on ways to maximize the potential of the MDB model for development in general and infrastructure in particular. The rationale for MDB involvement in infrastructure remains as compelling today as it did when the MDB model was conceived following World War II. A financial cooperative among like-minded nations can overcome market failures and accelerate development, particularly if coupled with high-quality knowledge to improve project design and implementation. Existing MDBs have tremendous potential for catalyzing infrastructure investment if they are able to address some of the key obstacles inhibiting them, and ample room exists for new institutions utilizing the MDB model, such as the recently announced BRICS NDB and AIIB, among others.
This paper highlights the suitability of multilateral development banks (MDBs) for infrastructure financing, to provide the long-term financing needed for infrastructure investment to become profitable, given the large scale of the initial investment and the long amortization time. This paper outlibes giw MDBs can offer finance at a relatively low cost due to their high credit ratings. Thus, they can borrow relatively cheaper on the international capital markets and pass on that cost advantage to their borrowers. However, the authors note that MDBs face some restrictions in their ability to provide support to infrastructure, but nonetheless have numerous advantages in terms of financial terms, information, and ability to cope with risk, all of which can play a significant catalytic role. The paper is divided into the followig sub-sections: i) Loans (long tenors and big tickets) and Equity, ii) Technical Assistance, iii) New Partners, iv) Unfunded Instruments and v) Proved and Tested Instruments vs. New Instruments. And in conclusion, the authors present key findings from this study.
This scoping study provides ideas, techniques and case studies on how renewable energy can be better communicated to and by policy makers, decision makers and other stakeholders. It examines 15 case studies of renewable energy communications strategies from government, the private sector, and civil society. The majority of cases were found to lack rigorous, well-planned and adequately evaluated communications strategies. The study looks at how more targeted, effective renewable energy communications campaigns can be achieved through the use of more consistent, holistic and rigorous approaches to pre- and post-campaign development.
Agriculture and the agro-processing sector in Brazil have shown impressive growth over the past two decades. This has largely been driven by productivity improvements and structural adjustment resulting from broad economic reforms, as well as new technologies developed by agricultural science. Government policy and industry initiatives are increasingly focused on the sustainability of agricultural development.
The electricity system in Turkey faces three challenges. First, demand for electricity is growing as economic growth brings increased energy usage. Second, as the electricity supply expands to keep pace with demand there is the need to ensure that electricity prices remain affordable. Third, as energy and electricity are at the heart of modern economies, energy security is critical for the electricity sector. To balance the competing demands of demand growth, affordability and energy security, policy must seek to create a framework that promotes technologies and projects that meet these needs and deliver sustainable development.