Climate change and biodiversity

The start of 2022 has been marked by drought, with countries around the world experiencing abnormally low levels of precipitation and dryness over the last few months. On the African continent, the intensity and duration of the droughts is wreaking havoc on economies already struggling because of the pandemic. In the eastern part of the continent, drought threatened to put countries in the Horn of Africa “on the brink of catastrophe” as late as February. In the north, Morocco is exp ...

The 2021 German federal election brought about a historic reshuffle of the political parties’ hierarchy in Europe’s biggest economy. The Social Democratic Party are back in control of the Chancellery for the first time since 2005, as part of a three-party coalition at the federal level with the Greens and the Liberals, a first in Germany’s post-war history. Now, the federal government has turned its gaze towards its founding mission: more progress. The first 100 days of the three-pa ...

Si les liens existant entre l’exportation de matières premières et l’industrialisation sont étudiés depuis longtemps, l’entrée résolue de l’économie mondiale dans l’ère de la transition environnementale et numérique leur offre une dimension toute particulière. L’évidence de la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique par la décarbonation de notre monde ne saurait, en effet, faire oublier toute la complexité de la stratégie à adopter pour y parvenir. Il s’agit, pour l ...

Energy markets have experienced significant disruptions since the outbreak of COVID-19. In late 2021, soaring natural gas prices triggered a new crisis, leading to risks of energy supply shortages worldwide and propelling the issue of energy security to the forefront. Africa will not be spared the repercussions of this crisis, which could further increase energy inequality, which is in turn linked to other forms of inequality. Indeed, in a context of persistent inflation, the lack o ...

Setting the Scene for the Current State of Inclusive Green Finance Climate change is one of, if not the biggest, challenges facing the world. The challenge extends to banking regulators, who, in addition to other responsibilities, are now tasked with ensuring financial inclusion and climate change mitigation. However, central banks realizing how important inclusion and climate change are is only the first step. As part of this process, they need to understand how to define Inclusiv ...

Why Green Finance Taxonomies? The increasing effort to mitigate climate change has caused more and more individuals, governments, and companies to shift away from traditional financial investments and activities, and towards more environmentally-friendly alternatives. However, until recently, there has been a lack of consensus on what green finance and its environmental impact is. Thus, green finance taxonomies are needed to provide classification systems that identify how environm ...

As part of the lengthy fight against climate change, the European Union (EU) has introduced a Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), among its "Fit for 55" package, intended to deliver the EU's intermediate target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. This proposal is deemed "bold, complicated, even controversial." If implemented, it will undoubtedly disrupt trade relations between the EU and its main partners and transform energy dynamics i ...

En dépit de toutes les critiques contre les énergies fossiles au niveau international, plusieurs projets pétroliers et gaziers continuent à être lancés et à progresser en vue de prochaines mises en production. L’Afrique ne fait pas exception à la règle, bien au contraire. Des projets pétroliers importants sont ainsi en cours de développement dans plusieurs pays du continent et, pour au moins trois d’entre eux, le compte à rebours est bien engagé. Nous évoquerons dans cette Opinion l ...

Simon Kofe, the Foreign Minister in charge of Communication and Justice of Tuvalu, a 25.9 square miles’ nation located in the South Pacific, was standing at the podium in suit and tie. But when he rolled up his trouser, he was barefoot, feeling white sand under his feet, the warm, sparkling clear water up to his knees. A PR stunt filmed at the far end of Fongafate, the primary islet of the capital Funafuti. Tuvalu’s population is about 11 000 inhabitants, and it is one of the world ...

A Case for Regulators to Green Financial Inclusion Financial Inclusion is an Excellent Tool for Combating Poverty It is well known that supporting financial inclusion is a relevant tool in lifting people out of poverty. There is plenty of empirical evidence showing that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty and income inequality in developing countries. Concerted efforts to support financial inclusion globally have existed since the United Nations Capital Development ...