Blogs
Using Machine Learning to Make Government Spending Greener
A groundbreaking pilot project undertaken by UNEP and UNCTAD shows how machine learning models can predict the environmental impacts of development spending. This data-driven approach can guide scarce public finance flows with sustainability and national development goals in mind.
How Green Public Investment Can Aid Postcrisis Recovery
Public investment is likely to be an important component of any postcrisis recovery program. As countries work to ensure smart, green, fair recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, investing in modern, resilient, and efficient infrastructure assets will be key.
The triple crisis needs a new response
The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit the most marginalized and vulnerable first and most directly, creating the need to react immediately. However, resilience building is becoming even more challenging in many countries of the Global South due to intersecting climate and debt challenges.
The Distributional Effects of Carbon Taxation: Lessons from the French Yellow Vests Movement
In 2018, an increase in France’s carbon tax rated sparked the Yellow Vests protests. This piece investigates what the distributional effects would have been if the French government had instead redistributed tax revenues through equal lump-sum transfers.
De-risking circular economy investments through fiscal policy support
The circular economy (CE) stimulates frugal and efficient use of resources by designing out waste and maintaining value of goods and materials through regenerative business practices. Finance volumes favour the less complex linear business model, but change is underway.
Smarter Farm Subsidies Can Drive Ecosystem Restoration
Every year, governments give out $700 billion in agricultural subsidies globally. Though well-intentioned, these farm subsidies sometimes work against their core goal: boosting crop yields and farmer incomes while developing rural areas.
