Download or read book Climate Impacts on Energy Systems written by Jane O. Ebinger and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "While the energy sector is a primary target of efforts to arrest and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and lower the carbon footprint of development, it is also expected to be increasingly affected by unavoidable climate consequences from the damage already induced in the biosphere. Energy services and resources, as well as seasonal demand, will be increasingly affected by changing trends, increasing variability, greater extremes and large inter-annual variations in climate parameters in some regions. All evidence suggests that adaptation is not an optional add-on but an essential reckoning on par with other business risks. Existing energy infrastructure, new infrastructure and future planning need to consider emerging climate conditions and impacts on design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Integrated risk-based planning processes will be critical to address the climate change impacts and harmonize actions within and across sectors. Also, awareness, knowledge, and capacity impede mainstreaming of climate adaptation into the energy sector. However, the formal knowledge base is still nascent?information needs are complex and to a certain extent regionally and sector specific. This report provides an up-to-date compendium of what is known about weather variability and projected climate trends and their impacts on energy service provision and demand. It discusses emerging practices and tools for managing these impacts and integrating climate considerations into planning processes and operational practices in an environment of uncertainty. It focuses on energy sector adaptation, rather than mitigation which is not discussed in this report. This report draws largely on available scientific and peer-reviewed literature in the public domain and takes the perspective of the developing world to the extent possible."

Download or read book World Development Report 2016 written by World Bank Group and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital technologies are spreading rapidly, but digital dividends--the broader benefits of faster growth, more jobs, and better services--are not. If more than 40 percent of adults in East Africa pay their utility bills using a mobile phone, why can’t others around the world do the same? If 8 million entrepreneurs in China--one third of them women--can use an e-commerce platform to export goods to 120 countries, why can’t entrepreneurs elsewhere achieve the same global reach? And if India can provide unique digital identification to 1 billion people in five years, and thereby reduce corruption by billions of dollars, why can’t other countries replicate its success? Indeed, what’s holding back countries from realizing the profound and transformational effects that digital technologies are supposed to deliver? Two main reasons. First, nearly 60 percent of the world’s population are still offline and can’t participate in the digital economy in any meaningful way. Second, and more important, the benefits of digital technologies can be offset by growing risks. Startups can disrupt incumbents, but not when vested interests and regulatory uncertainty obstruct competition and the entry of new firms. Employment opportunities may be greater, but not when the labor market is polarized. The internet can be a platform for universal empowerment, but not when it becomes a tool for state control and elite capture. The World Development Report 2016 shows that while the digital revolution has forged ahead, its 'analog complements'--the regulations that promote entry and competition, the skills that enable workers to access and then leverage the new economy, and the institutions that are accountable to citizens--have not kept pace. And when these analog complements to digital investments are absent, the development impact can be disappointing. What, then, should countries do? They should formulate digital development strategies that are much broader than current information and communication technology (ICT) strategies. They should create a policy and institutional environment for technology that fosters the greatest benefits. In short, they need to build a strong analog foundation to deliver digital dividends to everyone, everywhere.

Download or read book Managing Water Under Uncertainty and Risk written by Unesco and published by Unesco. This book was released on 2012 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This flagship report is a comprehensive review that gives an overall picture of the world's freshwater resources. It analyses pressures from decisions that drive demand for water and affect its availability. It offers tools and response options to help leaders in government, the private sector and civil society address current and future challenges. It suggests ways in which institutions can be reformed and their behaviour modified, and explores possible sources of financing for the urgently needed investment in water. The WWDR4 is a milestone within the WWDR series, reporting directly on regions and highlighting hotspots, and it has been mainstreamed for gender equality. It introduces a thematic approach - 'Managing Water under Uncertainty and Risk' - in the context of a world which is changing faster than ever in often unforeseeable ways, with increasing uncertainties and risks. It highlights that historical experience will no longer be sufficient to approximate the relationship between the quantities of available water and shifting future demands. Like the earlier editions, the WWDR4 also contains country-level case studies describing the progress made in meeting water-related objectives. The WWDR4 also seeks to show that water has a central role in all aspects of economic development and social welfare, and that concerted action via a collective approach of the water-using sectors is needed to ensure water's many benefits are maximized and shared equitably and that water-related development goals are achieved.

Download or read book Doing Business 2018 written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 1217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2018 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: • Starting a business • Dealing with construction permits • Getting electricity • Registering property • Getting credit • Protecting minority investors • Paying taxes • Trading across borders • Enforcing contracts • Resolving insolvency These areas are included in the distance to frontier score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2017, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business†?, and analyzes reforms to business regulation †“ identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank Group that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 137 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 2,182 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception. Data Notes; Distance to Frontier and Ease of Doing Business Ranking; and Summaries of Doing Business Reforms in 2016/17 can be downloaded separately from the Doing Business website.

Download or read book The 2030 Spike written by Colin Mason and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The clock is relentlessly ticking! Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization. Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe. Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization. This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.

Download or read book The Indus Basin of Pakistan written by Winston H. Yu and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2013 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study, Indus basin of Pakistan: the impacts of climate risks on water and agriculture was undertaken at a pivotal time in the region. The weak summer monsoon in 2009 created drought conditions throughout the country. This followed an already tenuous situation for many rural households faced with high fuel and fertilizer costs and the impacts of rising global food prices. Then catastrophic monsoon flooding in 2010 affected over 20 million people, devastating their housing, infrastructure, and crops. Damages from this single flood event were estimated at US dollar 10 billion, half of which were losses in the agriculture sector. Notwithstanding the debate as to whether these observed extremes are evidence of climate change, an investigation is needed regarding the extent to which the country is resilient to these shocks. It is thus timely, if not critical, to focus on climate risks for water, agriculture, and food security in the Indus basin of Pakistan.

Download or read book Doing Business 2014 written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulations in 189 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity around the world.

Download or read book Doing Business 2015 written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2014-10-24 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelfth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 189 economies, Doing Business 2015 measures regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business Dealing with construction permits Getting electricity Registering property Getting credit Protecting minority investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Resolving insolvency Labor market regulations This year's report will present data for a second city for the 11 economies with more than 100 million inhabitants. These are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, and the United States. Three of the 10 topics covered have been expanded, with further plans to expand on five additional indicators in next year's report. Additionally, the Doing Business rankings are now based on the distance to the frontier measure where each economy is evaluated based on how close their business regulations are to the best global practices. This provides a more precise view of each economy's performance and its improvement over time. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2014, ranks economies on their overall 'ease of doing business,' and analyzes reforms to business regulation identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 2,000 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.

Download or read book Natural Hazards UnNatural Disasters written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2010-11-10 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how to ensure that the preventive measures are worthwhile and effective, and how people can make decisions individually and collectively at different levels of government.

Download or read book Public Participation in the Governance of International Freshwater Resources written by Carl E. Bruch and published by United Nations University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bruch, a senior attorney of the Environmental Law Institute, presents work from an April 2003 symposium co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, the United Nations University, and other institutions. Papers from the symposium identify innovative approaches in watershed management and look at political, linguistic, legal, cultural, and geogr

Download or read book Doing Business 2019 written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-11-30 with total page 1734 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: • Starting a business • Dealing with construction permits • Getting electricity • Registering property • Getting credit • Protecting minority investors • Paying taxes • Trading across borders • Enforcing contracts • Resolving insolvency These areas are included in the distance to frontier score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. This edition also presents the findings of the pilot indicator entitled 'Contracting with the Government,' which aims at benchmarking the efficiency, quality and transparency of public procurement systems worldwide. The report updates all indicators as of May 1, 2018, ranks economies on their overall 'ease of doing business', and analyzes reforms to business regulation -- identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank Group that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. Almost 140 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground.

Download or read book The World Bank written by Devesh Kapur and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 1310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This effort constitutes the most comprehensive and authoritative work to date on the history of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the World Bank. Author-editors John Lewis, Richard Webb, and Devesh Kapur chronicle the evolution of this institution and offer insights into its successes, failures, and prospects for the future. The result of their intense labors is an invaluable resource for other researchers and a fascinating study in its own right. The work is divided into two volumes. The first is organized thematically and examines the critical events and policy issues in the World Bank's development over the last fifty years. Chapter topics include poverty alleviation, structural adjustment lending, environmental programs, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Development Association (IDA), and the evolution of the Bank as an institution. The second volume contains case studies written by experts with experience in the various regions in which the Bank operates. There are chapters on the Bank's activities in Korea, Mexico, Africa, South Asia, and Eastern Europe. Volume 2 also contains essays on the World Bank's relationship with the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, and its partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). By special arrangement, the authors have had wide-ranging access to confidential documents at the World Bank, making this work a unique source of information on the internal workings of this critical institution. They have also drawn on extensive interviews with current and past Bank officials. Moreover, publication could not be more timely, coming as it does when many in the development community and in the U.S. Congress are questioning the Bank's track record and even its reason for existence. The World Bank: Its First Half Century will be of great interest not only to development practitioners but also to students of international relations, development economics, and global finance. During the course of the project, John P. Lewis and Richard Webb were nonresident senior fellows, and Devesh Kapur was a program associate, in the Foreign Policy Studies program at the Brookings Institution.

Download or read book Director s Memorandum written by United States. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Geothermal Energy written by Mary H. Dickson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-04 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geothermal energy refers to the heat contained within the Earth that generates geological phenomena on a planetary scale. Today, this term is often associated with man's efforts to tap into this vast energy source. Geothermal Energy: utilization and technology is a detailed reference text, describing the various methods and technologies used to exploit the earth's heat. Beginning with an overview of geothermal energy and the state of the art, leading international experts in the field cover the main applications of geothermal energy, including: electricity generation space and district heating space cooling greenhouse heating aquaculture industrial applications The final third of the book focuses upon environmental impact and economic, financial and legal considerations, providing a comprehensive review of these topics. Each chapter is written by a different author, but to a set style, beginning with aims and objectives and ending with references, self-assessment questions and answers. Case studies are included throughout. Whilst written primarily for professionals and students interested in learning more about geothermal energy, the book also offers those new to the field and the general geothermal community an opportunity to understand and review the potential of this exciting alternative energy source. Published with UNESCO

Download or read book Cities Towns Renewable Energy written by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and published by OECD. This book was released on 2009 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book includes several case studies chosen to illustrate how enhanced deployment of renewable energy projects can result from local policy regardless of a community's size or location.

Download or read book Blue Book on Geothermal Resources written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Basic Guide to Exporting written by Jason Katzman and published by Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. This book was released on 2011-03-23 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is practical advice for anyone who wants to build their business by selling overseas. The International Trade Administration covers key topics such as marketing, legal issues, customs, and more. With real-life examples and a full index, A Basic Guide to Exporting provides expert advice and practical solutions to meet all of your exporting needs.