High levels of marine and coastal pollution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) pose a severe threat to the region’s “blue economy,” which is a key lever for economic growth in the region.…

Kanako Hasegawa, Lamia Mansour, Dahlia Lotayef, Suiko Yoshijima, Andrea Kutter |

There are effective practices to address the challenges facing the housing sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. Read four lessons based on practices in the region.

Giuliana De Mendiola, Liliana Parra Santamaría, Álvaro José Salgado Botero |

The recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has raised the prominence of climate action in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)…

Asif Islam, Dalal Moosa, Federica Saliola |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces six papers published in January of 2023 on various topics, including gender,…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

With about a third of the world’s water resources, Latin America has the highest water endowment per capita, nearly four times the global average. Even so, as many as 150 million people or about a…

Anna Wellenstein, Midori Makino |

What is the importance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, for Latin America and the Caribbean?

Carlos Felipe Jaramillo |

Cities concentrate the causes and impacts of climate change and are central to any broad effort to reduce it. We want to share some challenges we face in cities in Latin America and the Caribbean…

David Sislen, Giuliana De Mendiola, Carina Lakovits |

How can finance ministries take part in climate action? Let us outline some of the key areas where they can play a role and methods to promote legislation to contribute to national commitments.…

Jens Kromann Kristensen, Laura De Castro Zoratto, Nadir Mohammed |

In a changing climate—with more frequent, longer lasting, or extreme wind, rain, snow, cold, and heat—how can urban planning and design influence our mobility choices? And how can city governments…

Sandrine Boukerche |

COVID-19 has not stopped countries from addressing marine litter. Rather, the main issue has been MENA governments carrying out different marine waste policies and making different investments.…

Kanako Hasegawa, Marcelo Acerbi, Khalid Anouar |