Toward an Environmentally Sustainable Future

Toward an Environmentally Sustainable Future
Author: Qingfeng Zhang
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2012-08-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9290927135

This publication presents the results of a 2-year effort to update environmental assessment in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The research was a collaborative effort involving the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the National Development and Reform Commission, and numerous other technical and research institutions in the PRC. Based on this research and extensive consultations, ADB proposes a wide range of programs and policies that will help improve environmental quality despite new and emerging sources of pollution and challenges to natural resources management. Inclusive growth and a green economy are the government's guiding principles for its development agenda under the 12th Five-Year Plan and beyond to 2020. To support these principles, the PRC needs to restructure its economic and fiscal systems to reflect environmental externality, expand the use of market-based instruments to control pollution, and introduce and implement legal reforms to clarify responsibility and promote cooperation.

Catalyzing Green Finance

Catalyzing Green Finance
Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2017-08-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9292578561

A large financing need challenges climate-adjusted infrastructure in developing Asia, estimated at $26 trillion till 2030. This necessitates crowding-in private sources to meet financing, efficiency, and technology gaps. However, a lack of bankable projects is a major hurdle. This publication suggests one possible innovative financing approach. The Green Finance Catalyzing Facility (GFCF) proposes a blended finance framework for governments and development entities to better leverage development funds for risk mitigation, generate a pipeline of bankable green infrastructure projects, and directly catalyze private finance. The GFCF provides useful inputs for the current debate on mainstreaming green finance into country financial systems.

The Ocean Plastics Reduction Guide

The Ocean Plastics Reduction Guide
Author: European Investment Bank
Publisher: European Investment Bank
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2021-07-19
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9286150288

The objective of this guide is to raise awareness about the oceans' crucial importance to us and to the planet, and the growing threats posed by plastics discharged into and accumulating in the oceans. The guide outlines the key problems and challenges and how these can be addressed. The guide is promoting circular solutions to the ocean plastic pollution, and intends to inspire impactful action and change.

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020
Author: UNESCO
Publisher:
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2020-03-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9210050002

The 2020 edition of the WWDR, titled Water and Climate Change illustrates the critical linkages between water and climate change in the context of the broader sustainable development agenda. Supported by examples from across the world, it describes both the challenges and opportunities created by climate change, and provides potential responses – in terms of adaptation, mitigation and improved resilience – that can be undertaken by enhancing water resources management, attenuating water-related risks, and improving access to water supply and sanitation services for all in a sustainable manner. It addresses the interrelations between water, people, environment and economics in a changing climate, demonstrating how climate change can be a positive catalyst for improved water management, governance and financing to achieve a sustainable and prosperous world for all. The report provides a fact-based, water-focused contribution to the knowledge base on climate change. It is complementary to existing scientific assessments and designed to support international political frameworks, with the goals of helping the water community tackle the challenges of climate change, and informing the climate change community about the opportunities that improved water management offers in terms of adaptation and mitigation.

Eco2 Cities

Eco2 Cities
Author: Hiroaki Suzuki
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2010-05-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 082138144X

This book is a point of departure for cities that would like to reap the many benefits of ecological and economic sustainability. It provides an analytical and operational framework that offers strategic guidance to cities on sustainable and integrated urban development.

Public–Private Partnership Monitor

Public–Private Partnership Monitor
Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2021-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9292629417

The Government of Pakistan strongly supports public–private partnership (PPP) initiatives. From 1990 to 2019, Pakistan witnessed 108 financially closed PPP projects, with a total investment of approximately $28.4 billion. About 88% of these projects are in the energy sector, attracting more than $24.7billion, followed by investments in the port sector. In early 2021, Parliament approved the amendments to the 2017 PPP Law, enacting the Public Private Partnership Authority (Amendment) Act 2021. This further strengthens the enabling legal and regulatory framework for developing and implementing PPPs, thereby promoting private sector investment in public infrastructure and related services.

Water Reuse

Water Reuse
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2012-07-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309224624

Expanding water reuse-the use of treated wastewater for beneficial purposes including irrigation, industrial uses, and drinking water augmentation-could significantly increase the nation's total available water resources. Water Reuse presents a portfolio of treatment options available to mitigate water quality issues in reclaimed water along with new analysis suggesting that the risk of exposure to certain microbial and chemical contaminants from drinking reclaimed water does not appear to be any higher than the risk experienced in at least some current drinking water treatment systems, and may be orders of magnitude lower. This report recommends adjustments to the federal regulatory framework that could enhance public health protection for both planned and unplanned (or de facto) reuse and increase public confidence in water reuse.