MDBs

A tipping point for solar energy?

Manik, a solar pump operator for Nusra works near the solar panels in Rohertek, Bangladesh. © Dominic Chavez/World Bank

Solar’s growing share of the energy mix is being driven by better storage capacity and attractive generation costs. Large solar parks are now competitive with most alternatives; their average cost is below 5 cents per kilowatt-hour in some developing countries. Smaller-scale solar grids are also getting more competitive, opening new paths to financing this clean energy source. With rapid improvements in energy efficient lighting, refrigeration, water pumps, and other technologies for households, solar may soon be as game-changing as mobile phones have been in the last decade.

Solar’s potential is evident from its quick growth in India, where installed capacity recently topped 20 gigawatts (GW), putting the country closer to its ambitious target of 100 GW from clean energy by 2022 (an amount comparable to total installed capacity in the United Kingdom).

Breaking new ground: growing the digital economy through cyber risk reinsurance PPPs in EMDEs

Photo: ItNeverEnds | Pixabay Creative Commons

The digital economy has emerged as a key driver of growth and development across the world. According to Huawei and Oxford Economics, it accounted for 15.5% of global GDP in 2016 and this share is expected to increase to 24.3% by the year 2020—growing 2.5 times higher than the overall growth of the global economy.

However, along with rapidly increasing digitization, we are witnessing an exponential increase in cyber risks. These have potentially huge financial impacts that could place entire economies and societies in jeopardy. Such threats now typically include privacy breaches, cyber fraud, denial-of-service attacks, and cyber extortion. There are many examples just within the last few years. For instance, a cyber attack on Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 caused serious power outages, and in 2016, the Central Bank of Bangladesh lost $81 million in a cyber heist. That same year, more than 3.1 billion records were leaked globally.

While traditional approaches such as establishing computer emergency response teams and national cyber security agencies are important, there is a need to engage more actively with both public and private entities through new institutional structures, new technologies, and new business models. Cyber risk insurance is one tool that can help address these challenges.

Sustainable mobility: Who's who and who does what?

Some might call it an existential question. Some may be surprised that the answer is not clear. When it comes to sustainable mobility initiatives and stakeholders, who is who, and who does what? Addressing these questions is a key pre-requisite to the transformation of the transport sector and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDGs, the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries, over 100 different organizations and initiatives… It’s enough to make your head spin! As the world increasingly recognizes the importance of mobility to the overall sustainable development agenda, the number of stakeholders in this arena has been growing steadily. Although many established groups have been warning us for years about the role of transport in the fight against climate change—the sector accounts for some 23% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions—many newer players are now adding their voice to the global conversation.

From public transport agencies to car companies and ride-sharing platforms, clean fuel advocates, maritime transport groups, and electric vehicle proponents, a dizzying array of sector-specific initiatives have emerged over the last few years. Newer city-specific coalitions, such as the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Compact of Mayors, have played a critical role in relaying these concerns at the local level. However, global initiatives have been the ones that have seen the most impressive growth. Also in the mix are globally minded, from UN entities to smaller NGOS, as well as region-specific organizations such as regional development banks.

What’s the solution to untangling this web of stakeholders? Over the past six months, the World Bank, with support from the World Economic Forum, has mapped out major transport initiatives and organizations as comprehensively and systematically as possible.

A decade of PPPs in Latin America and the Caribbean: What have we learned?

Also available in: Español | Português

Photo (right): Mr. Amarin Jitnathum / Shutterstock

The Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) has an infrastructure gap: the region needs to invest at least 5% of GDP to cover its infrastructure needs, but is currently investing only half that. To put it mildly, there is still a lot of room for improvement for both the public and private sectors, and also for multilaterals working in the region.

In a combined effort to reduce infrastructure gaps, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have become, again, a popular tool since 2005. LAC was the predominant region for PPPs until the late 1990s, when investments plummeted due in part to a backlash of poorly-implemented PPPs.

Triggered by low commodity prices and rising fiscal deficits, as well as by improvements in PPP readiness, many countries established dedicated agencies and strengthened regulations leading to increases in PPP investments from $8 billion in 2005 to $39 billion in 2015. In total, LAC has seen investments of $361.3 billion in around 1,000 PPP infrastructure projects in just one decade, mostly in energy and transport.

Uma década de PPPs na América Latina e Caribe: O que aprendemos?

Also available in: Español | English

Foto (direita): Amarin Jitnathum / Shutterstock

A região da América Latina e Caribe (ALC) apresenta uma lacuna em termos de infraestrutura: a região precisa investir no mínimo 5% do PIB para atender suas necessidades neste setor, mas atualmente investe apenas metade desse percentual. Explicando de uma forma suave, há ainda muito espaço para melhorias por parte do setor público, do setor privado, bem como das organizações multilaterais que trabalham na região.

Em um esforço combinado de reduzir as lacunas de infraestrutura, as Parcerias Público-Privadas voltaram a ser uma ferramenta popular a partir de 2005. A ALC era a região com maior predominância de PPPs até o fim dos 1990s, quando os investimentos despencaram em parte como reação adversas provocadas por PPPs mal implementadas.

Incentivados pelos preços baixos dos produtos primários e déficits fiscais crescentes, assim como pelo aprimoramento da capacidade de preparação de PPPs, muitos países criaram agências específicas e fortaleceram regulamentações que levaram ao aumento de investimentos em PPPs de US$ 8 bilhões em 2005 para US$ 39 bilhões em 2015. No total, em apenas uma década, a ALC teve investimentos de US$ 361,3 bilhões referentes a aproximadamente 1000 PPPs de projetos de infraestrutura, principalmente nos setores de energia e transportes.

New from the PPP Knowledge Lab: The Public-Private Partnership Reference Guide online

The Public-Private Partnership Reference Guide has been downloaded more than 18,000 times since it was first launched in 2012. The Guide’s popularity reflects its value. The Guide offers:

A solid overview of the core elements of public-private partnerships (PPPs); and
A rich collection of references to the best-available PPP-related materials.

The 3rd version of the PPP Reference Guide has just been published. Like its predecessors, it provides in-depth coverage of PPP basics, the PPP framework, and the steps involved in the PPP process.

This version, however, offers several additions and improvements that add greater value to PPP practitioners:

Version 3 is available online. Besides increasing accessibility, the online version allows new reference materials to be added as they become available. This makes the Guide a living document that is always up-to-date.
A section on Stakeholder Communication and Engagement addresses an important element of PPP governance that is often overlooked.
In response to growing demand, a new section, Environmental and Social Studies and Standards, has been included.

The Guide also includes numerous examples and case studies that shed light on PPP issues in different sectors and regions.

Going forward, we will publish monthly posts that highlight specific sections of the Guide, illustrating how seasoned practitioners and novices alike can use it to strengthen their knowledge of PPPs and apply it to real-world developmental challenges.

Habitat III: The New Urban Agenda and the role of Multilateral Development Banks

In support of the “New Urban Agenda” adopted this week during the UN-sponsored global Habitat III conference, eight Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) — the Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), and the World Bank – are putting the Agenda’s words into action by issuing a “Joint Statement” expressing their commitment to promote equitable, sustainable, and productive urbanization and urban communities.

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director of the World Bank’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, speaks with Juan Pablo Bonilla, Manager of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector for the IADB, on how the organizations will work together to finance the “New Urban Agenda.”

A field guide to infrastructure

Birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts already know that a field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife or other objects that occur naturally, like minerals. It’s meant to be carried into the “field” to help distinguish between similar objects.

At the Global Infrastructure Hub, we thought it was time for a field guide to infrastructure, pointing out the different resources that populate the landscape and helping them connect better. The Global Infrastructure Hub’s Field Guide to Infrastructure Resources (Field Guide) collects together existing resources and helps the user establish connections among them.

A global conversation about collaborating for better infrastructure delivery

Conversation may be an art, but the best conversations spur action, too – and the upcoming Global Infrastructure Forum 2016 will focus on strengthening and formalizing collaboration among multilateral development banks (MDBs) to improve infrastructure delivery around the world. This unprecedented daylong gathering in Washington, DC brings together the leaders of the MDBs, as well as development partners and representatives of the G20, G-24, and G-77 and the United Nations, with the aim of enhancing multilateral collaborative mechanisms to improve infrastructure delivery globally.

Empowering a greener future

CIF launches annual report that marks 2015 as year of achievements

This is Morocco’s Noor 1 concentrated solar power plant, the first phase of what will eventually be the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. It is an impressive sight—visible even from space–and it holds the promise of supplying over 500 megawatts of power to over a million Moroccans by 2018. It also embodies the power of well-placed concessional financing to stimulate climate action. Low cost, long term financing totaling $435 million provided by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has served as a spark to attract the public and private investments needed to build this massive facility, and it is just one example of how the CIF is empowering a greener, more resilient future.

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