Ahead of the IDA20 Replenishment pledging meeting in Tokyo next month, the proposed replenishment package is now at an advanced stage. At this meeting, the IDA20 Deputies’ Report will be tabled for endorsement by IDA Deputies and Borrower Representatives. Before this happens, the public is invited to review the draft IDA20 Deputies’ Report and provide comments before November 26.
The fast spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in the emergence of several hot-spots around the world. Several of these are located in areas associated with high levels of air pollution. This study investigates the relationship between exposure to particulate matter and COVID-19 incidence in 355 municipalities in the Netherlands. The results show that atmospheric particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 is a highly significant predictor of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospital admissions. The estimates suggest that expected COVID-19 cases increase by nearly 100 percent when pollution concentrations increase by 20 percent.
Deadline: 19-Mar-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)
The scope of the assignment shall cover the major topics that need to be considered by policymakers and regulators when establishing a new market for offshore wind development. These shall include, but not be limited to, the following points:
1. Policy discussion on successful policy measures including drivers, targets;
2. Pre-development geospatial planning and technical studies, including zoning;
3. Stakeholder identification and consultation;
4. Legal key legislation to facilitate project development and delivery;
5. Environmental and social policies to ensure sustainable offshore wind development
6. Health & safety referencing best practice from Europe and related sectors (e.g. oil and gas);
7. Consenting roles and responsibilities between agencies and building public sector capacity;
8. Transmission models for development, financing and ownership of transmission;
9. Grid integration best practice in integration of offshore wind into grids
10. Tariff and bankability offtake mechanisms to ensure bankable revenue;
11. Project solicitation identification of sites, competitive methodologies for awarding rights;
12. Supply chain approaches to support and encourage local supply chain and infrastructure development (e.g. ports);
13. Financing project structures to minimize risk (both on public and private elements)
Full Terms of Reference (TOR) will be included in a future Request for Proposals (RFP) which will be issued to Consultants that are shortlisted from this REOI.
Deadline: 02-Mar-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)
Launched in 2008, the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG) (http://www.2030wrg.org) aims to help countries facilitate collective action among government, the private sector, and civil society to improve water resources management. 2030 WRG does so by: (a) creating the wider political economy conditions and momentum for change in water sector reform; (b) facilitating collaboration and awareness building within the water resources community, including the private sector; and, (c) improving the design and implementation of a comprehensive and innovative set of policies, programs and projects in selected countries or regions in order to increase their water security.
Just over a decade out from the SDG deadline of 2030, many developing countries are not on track to meet Universal Health Coverage (UHC) targets to ensure access to quality, affordable health services to all. People in developing countries pay over half a trillion dollars annually out-of-pocket for health services, which is pushing about 100 million people into extreme poverty each year. The evidence is strong that progress towards UHC would spur not just better health but also inclusive and sustainable economic growth, yet this report estimates that in 2030 there will be a UHC financing gap of $176 billion in the 54 poorest countries. This threatens decades-long progress on health, endangers countries’ long-term economic prospects, and makes them more vulnerable to pandemic risks. This report, launched to inform the first-ever G20 Finance and Health Ministers session in Osaka, Japan in June 2019, lays out an action agenda for countries and development partners to bridge the UHC financing gap, and makes a strong case for a focus on innovation in health financing over the next decade.
Download Full report and Executive summary
A mini grid is an electric power generation and distribution system that provides electricity to a localized community. Mini grids will be critical in achieving universal electricity access by 2030. According to a new World Bank report “Mini Grids for Half a Billion People: Market Outlook and Handbook for Decision Makers”, mini grids are often the most economically viable solution for remote areas with high population density and demand and where extending the main grid is prohibitively expensive.
Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) shows that
Afghanistan, Myanmar, India and Nepal have the highest number of mini grids, followed by China, Philippines, Indonesia. Analysis by thePublished on http://www.worldbank.org, June 19, 2019
Infrastructure is at the heart of lives and livelihoods. It can enable schools and hospitals, businesses and industry, and access to jobs and prosperity. In developing countries, however, disruptions to infrastructure are an everyday concern, reducing opportunities for employment, hampering health and education, and limiting economic growth.
In low and middle-income countries, direct damages from natural hazards to power generation and transport alone cost $18 billion a year, cutting into the already scarce budget of road agencies and power utilities. But the main impact of natural shocks on infrastructure is through the disruptions they impose on people and communities, for instance, businesses unable to keep factories running or use the internet to take orders and process payments; or on the households that don’t have the water they need to prepare meals or on people unable to go to work, send children to school, or get to a hospital.
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