Scenarios for future global growth to 2050
The end of extreme poverty may finally be achieved by 2050, spurred by economic growth in low-income countries, according to a new economic forecast. Though the Covid pandemic began to reverse progress
Center for Global Development
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Intellectual property rights and climate change: principles for innovation and access to low-carbon technology
As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting convenes in Copenhagen, Denmark, intellectual property (IP) rights remain a highly contentious issue that threatens the long-term prospects of these negotiations.
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Energy needs and efficiency, not emissions: re-framing the climate change narrative
The basic narrative on climate change between the rich and poor worlds has been problematic. The focus on emissions has made industrial countries inadequately sensitive to the unmet energy needs in developing countries. And it has led developing countries to adopt the rhetoric of recrimination and focus on the legacy of historical emissions by industrial countries.
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Climate change and the future impacts of storm-surge disasters in Developing Countries
As the climate changes during the 21st century, larger cyclonic storm surges and growing populations may collide in disasters of unprecedented size. As conditions worsen, variations in coastal morphology will magnify the effects in some areas, while largely insulating others.
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Climate change negotiating positions of major developing country emitters
Developing countries with large greenhouse gas emissions play a decisive role in negotiating a post-Kyoto climate agreement. No effective program to reduce global emissions is possible without their support. At the same time, developing countries face a delicate task in balancing their growing responsibility for a livable climate with the pursuit of continued economic development.
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Global warming: an opportunity for greatness
This brief presents the key facts and recommendations drawn from chapters of The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President. The next president can secure a place in history by mobilizing America to confront climate change, while starting a clean energy revolution that will strengthen American security and create the next wave of economic growth.
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Biofuels and the food price crisis: a survey of the issues
While the precise contribution of biofuels to surging food prices is difficult to know, policies promoting production of the current generation of biofuels are not achieving their stated objectives of increased energy independence or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Reaching the congressionally mandated goal of blending 15 billion gallons of renewable fuels in gasoline by 2015 would consume roughly 40 percent of the corn crop (based on recent production levels) while replacing just 7 percent of
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The structural transformation as a pathway out of poverty: analytics, empirics and politics
A powerful historical pathway of structural transformation is experienced by all successful developing countries, and this working paper presents the results of new empirical analysis of the process. Making sure the poor are connected to both the structural transformation and to the policy initiatives designed to ameliorate the distributional consequences of rapid transformation has turned out to be a major challenge for policy makers over the past half century. There are successes and
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Calculating CARMA: global estimation of CO2 emissions from the power sector
This paper provides a detailed description and assessment of CARMA (Carbon Monitoring for Action), a database that reports CO2 emissions from the power sector. CARMA also lays the groundwork for the global monitoring system that will be necessary to ensure the credibility of any post-Kyoto carbon emissions limitation agreement. CARMA focuses on the power sector because it is the largest carbon dioxide emitter, and because power plants are much better-documented than many sources of carbon emissions.
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Concentrating solar power in China and India: a spatial analysis of technical potential and the cost of deployment
Coal power generation in China and India is expected to double and triple, respectively, over the next 20 years, increasing exposure to fuel price volatility, exacerbating local air pollution, and hastening global climate change. Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a growing source of utility-scale, pollution-free electricity, but its potential in Asia remains largely unexamined.