Over the past 12 months, efforts to tackle a warming planet have lost momentum. There has already been a dialing back on climate initiatives at the Western-led Bretton Woods Institutions and by private financiers, with meaningful progress on the climate financing challenge stalling at the very moment greater effort is urgently needed. As a result, […]
By Rachel Thrasher and Praveena Bandara The consensus around the urgent need for climate policy continues to grow. In a July 2025 address, UN Secretary-General António Guterres lauded this new “moment of opportunity” by launching a technical report that highlights the benefits and inevitability of a global energy transition. The report highlights the rapid progress […]
Advanced economies that have criticized industrial policy in the past, are now increasingly turning to those tools in response to the climate crisis. At the same time, existing trade and investment agreements, negotiated and drafted at a time when countries viewed industrial policies with skepticism, embody a more “hands-off” approach to economic governance. The new […]
Although Africa is responsible for less than 4 percent of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and bears the brunt of climate change, all 54 African countries have signed the 2015 Paris Agreement. As of May 2022, 45 African countries had submitted updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions […]
Climate change is a global environmental crisis that has perpetuated economic and fiscal challenges for countries all over the world. Concurrent with the awareness of climate change risks, there is growing unease regarding the disproportionate impact of climate change on less-developed countries, particularly those in Africa. Countries with persistently low per capita growth, such as […]
The Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) is a policy-oriented research center working to advance financial stability, human well-being and environmental sustainability across the globe through rigorous interdisciplinary research, policy engagement and strategic communications. The GDP Center is a University-wide research center in partnership with the Office of Research and the Frederick S. […]
The Boston University Global Development Policy Center, the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) and Institute of Global Politics (IGP) at Columbia University and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, D.C. will host a workshop on “The Role of SDRs for Global Stability and Sustainable Economic Transformation,” on December 5, 2025. Special Drawing Rights […]
by Julie Radomski As countries around the world strive to meet their renewable energy targets, large hydroelectric dams are often framed as clean and reliable alternatives to fossil fuels. In the 21st century, Chinese development finance institutions (DFIs) have emerged as global leaders in financing hydropower, although many of these projects have faced severe environmental […]
Hydroelectric megaprojects represent an important target for Chinese development finance in the 21st century and will likely remain so given their categorization as renewable energy contributing to a green energy transition. However, Chinese-financed megadams around the world have faced numerous social, environmental and political challenges. These challenges not only inhibit the opportunity for the projects […]
By Janak Raj and Rakesh Mohan India faces a pressing challenge of aligning its developmental aspirations with a sustainable and low-carbon path, necessitating immediate and targeted climate action. Various studies have estimated the climate finance requirements of India in the range of $160-$288 billion annually up to 2030. All these estimates are model-based and have […]