An efficient and affordable access to
jobs, education and services is considered a fundamental
element for development. However, the mobility conditions in
the cities have deteriorated because of the increasing
motorization and urbanization. The number of new cars that
enter the cities every year outpaces the construction of new
roads, aggravating the existing congestion issues.
Therefore, the urban models that revolve around highways and

Global climate change is occurring at an
accelerating pace, and the global greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions that are forcing climate change continue to
increase. Given the present pace of international actions,
it seems unlikely that atmospheric composition can be
stabilized at a level that will avoid "dangerous
anthropogenic interference" with the climate system, as
called for in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The 2009 edition of the little green
data book includes a focus section, four introductory pages
that focus on a specific issue related to development and
the environment. This year the focus is on urban areas and
the environment, exploring how cities and climate change are
affecting the way we live and how good public policies can
improve prospects for future generations. Urbanization and
economic growth move in tandem. As emerging market economies

The Strategic Environmental and Social
Assessment (SESA) of the mining sector in Sierra Leone was
undertaken in response to the Government of Sierra
Leone's (GOSL) request for assistance in developing its
minerals policy. The SESA will help meet long-term country
development by integrating environmental and social
considerations in mining sector reforms. The crucial aspect
of the SESA process is that the environmental and social

This study, the first to concentrate on
Bangladesh's energy systems and their effects on the
lives of rural people, drew on these background studies, as
well as other World Bank-financed research on IAP and rural
infrastructure, to present a rural energy strategy for the
country. The study's broad aim was to identify ways to
improve the living standard in rural Bangladesh through
better and more efficient use of energy, while creating an

This paper reviews the contribution of
the World Bank's transport lending portfolio to health
outcomes, as background for the Independent Evaluation
Group's (IEG) evaluation of the Bank's support for
health, nutrition and population (HNP). Over the past decade
(FY97-06), the World Bank committed nearly $28 billion to
229 new transport projects managed by the Transport Sector
Board (TSB). Specifically, the paper reviews the extent to

The global monitoring report 2008 comes
at an important time. This year marks the halfway point in
the effort to achieve the millennium development goals
(MDGs) by 2015. This is also an important year to work
toward a consensus on how the world is going to respond to
the challenge of climate change, building on the foundation
laid at the conference in Bali in December 2007.
Successfully meeting this challenge will be essential for

Over the past year, the global economy has cooled significantly, a far cry from the boom just a year ago in various countries and across markets. At the same time, the scientific community communicated the heightened urgency of taking action on climate change. Policymakers at national, regional, and international levels have put forward proposals to respond to the climate challenge. The most concrete of these is the adopted European Union (EU) climate and energy package (20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020), which guarantees a level of carbon market continuity beyond 2012.

Energy for heating, cooling, lighting,
mechanical power, and various chemical processes is a
fundamental requirement for both daily life and economic
development. The negative impact on the environment of
current energy systems is increasingly alarming, especially
the global warming consequences of burning fossil fuels. The
future requires change through the development and adoption
of new supply technologies, through a successful search for

The 2008 edition of the little green
data book includes a focus section, four introductory pages
that focus on a specific issue related to development and
the environment. This year the focus is on the damage from
climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. As this focus
shows, global warming can have negative effects on
agriculture, health, infrastructure, and other economic
activities effects that are likely to hit developing

Panama is experiencing spectacular
economic growth, averaging 7.5 percent during 2004-06; a
construction boom; and emerging new opportunities and
growing export markets. Despite this impressive growth
performance, at the national level poverty remained almost
unchanged during 1997-2006 at around 37 percent (masking a
decline in rural poverty and an increase in urban and
indigenous areas). Key development challenges for Panama

Four years have passed since the
Millennium Development Goals sharpened the focus on
measuring the results of development-not the number of
projects undertaken or the dollars spent, but the
improvements in people's lives. The emphasis on
quantitative targets and the requirement for monitoring
progress on country poverty reduction strategies have
increased the demand for statistics. And that showed us how