Dutch cabinet accelerates plan for hydrogen production at sea

The cabinet wants to install the first large-scale green hydrogen production at sea inHydrogenfuelcell the North Sea, north of the Wadden Islands. The production location will be located next to two wind farms and should be operational around 2031. The green hydrogen is brought ashore through pipelines.

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Remembering the lessons of COVID-19 to build resilience for future shocks in Europe and Central Asia

From January 2020 until recently, COVID-19 dominated international headlines and ourserbiacovidtesting.jpg thoughts. Europe and Central Asia were severely hit by COVID-19, facing among the highest excess death rates in the worldAs we start to mask less and come together more, we should reflect on the ramifications of COVID-19 and how we are helping the most vulnerable in Europe and Central Asia address the human capital losses it induced.   

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Food Security Update | World Bank Response to Rising Food Insecurity

Latest Update – February 27, 2023

Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. Information from the latest month between October 2022 and January 2023 for which food price inflation data are available shows high inflation in almost all low- and middle-income countries, with inflation levels above 5% in 88.9% of low-income countries, 87.8% of lower-middle-income countries, and 93.0% of upper-middle-income countries and many experiencing double-digit inflation. In addition, about 87.3% of high-income countries are experiencing high food price inflation. The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. 

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Penny for your thoughts? Why coordination among creditors is key to sustainable debt

We know that when used wisely and transparently, debt is important to financedirk_hero.jpg development. Prudent debt can power economies and pave the way for a resilient future—allowing countries to focus on important investments in people and economic growth.   

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Unlocking Clean Cooking Pathways : A Practitioner’s Keys to Progress (English)

Provision of clean cooking for all is recognized as a critical cross-sectoral development issue. The potential societal benefits are enormous, particularly for public health, women’s productivity and empowerment, and the environment. Along with electrification, clean cooking is an essential component to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 7.1 – ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services. However, the stark reality is that progress on clean cooking access has been stymied by past perceptions of the sector as orphaned, invisible, and expensive. Recent developments have opened a window of opportunity for driving scale. The World Bank’s Clean Cooking Fund, the largest dedicated fund for galvanizing political commitment, scaling up public and private investment, and catalyzing innovation is using innovative Results-Based Financing (RBF) designs and applications to promote long-term market development and advance access for all. Lessons and success stories from the World Bank’s recent operational experience in the sector show how making access to clean cooking a political priority, using people-centered approaches, can drive large development impacts for society. To unlock a country’s clean cooking pathways, stakeholders must carefully consider its overall enabling environment, including its institutional capacity to implement transformative solutions. In countries with a high access deficit, addressing the cooking poverty issue will initially require modernizing the biomass fuel sector and promoting integrated, cost-effective approaches. How does one make the case for clean cooking in countries with a high access deficit? What are the guiding principles for developing a clean cooking strategy? What building blocks are necessary to promote market development for long-term sustainability? This report attempts to answer these and other key questions.
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The World Bank Group and International Women’s Day

Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, I want to share an update on the Worldjericho_wb_ahed_izhiman5_banner.jpg Bank Group’s work on gender.

Addressing critical gender gaps, including female labor force participation, offers an opportunity to boost incomes and stimulate growth. Research from the World Bank has repeatedly made clear that accelerating gender equality can generate significant economic gains.

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For women and girls in Benin, multi-faceted gender reforms offer new opportunities

STORY HIGHLIGHTSwomen-and-girls-in-Benin-780x439-v2

  • A new law expands the definition of gender-based violence (GBV) and increases or institutes punishments to tackle the scourge of GBV.
  • An overhaul of health regulations improves women’s access to reproductive health, including contraception, particularly for youth in youth-friendly facilities.
  • The World Bank is supporting Benin through a multi-faceted program to improve the lives of women and girls.

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International Women’s Day 2023: Accelerating Equality and Empowerment

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023, we at the World Bank Group willWB-HD-Womans-Day-Collage-1920x1080 celebrate women’s achievements and contributions with a series of events and engagements – we look forward to your participation!

The UN theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.  This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.  

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Hard-earned gains: Latin America and the Caribbean’s advances in fighting inflation and macro-instability

Most Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies today are barely recognizable whenblog_precios_de_gasolina_en_guatemala.jpg compared to their former selves just a generation ago. Although not all countries have managed to rein in economic volatility, most have graduated to delivering an almost “normal” macroeconomic performance. The importance of this achievement cannot be overstated. Not only is macro stability critical to citizen wellbeing, but it is an essential foundation for faster growth and poverty alleviation. Progress can be detected in at least three areas.

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Women’s Leadership and Collective Action: Driving change toward gender equality and empowerment