ESG and Of Interest News
Monitoring exposure to future climate-related hazards
July 22, 2025--Forward-looking indicator results and methods using climate scenarios
Abstract
Understanding how climate-related hazards will evolve due to climate change is crucial to guide adaptation decisions. Building on OECD indicators monitoring historical exposure to climate-related hazards, this paper develops forward-looking indicators to monitor exposure of people and agriculture (cropland and livestock) to three major climate-related hazard types (extreme temperature, extreme precipitation, and drought).
The methodology relies on climate multi-model ensembles covering a range of emission scenarios, from very low to very high. Results indicate that exposure to extreme temperature, precipitation, and drought is projected to worsen over the century in many countries, with considerable variation within and between countries. The presentation of indicator results in this paper focusses on 50 OECD member and partner countries but results for all countries globally are available online.
Mean temperatures are projected to increase by +4.2°8451; across the OECD and +3.5℃ in OECD partner countries by the end of the century under a high-emissions scenario.
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Source: OECD
Ranked: The Countries With the Most Seniors (2025-2100P)
July 20, 2025--Key Takeaways
European nations currently lead as countries with the most people aged 65+, but their increases through the century are projected to be slower and less extreme.
On the other hand, China is projected to move from outside the top ranks in 2025 to the world's 3rd most senior-heavy population by 2100.
The world has entered a demographic transition that it's never quite contended with before.
As fertility rates fall and longevity rises, the share of people aged 65 and over is climbing rapidly.
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Source: visualcapitalist.com
Global Gas Flaring Hits Highest Level Since 2007, Undermining Energy Security, Access, and Emissions Goals
July 18, 2025-New report estimates wasted gas amounts to Africa’s annual gas consumption
Global gas flaring surged for a second year in a row, wasting about $63 billion in lost energy and setting back efforts to manage emissions and boost energy security and access.
Flaring, the practice of burning natural gas during oil extraction, reached 151 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024, up 3 bcm from the previous year and the highest level in almost two decades.
An estimated 389 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent-46 million of that from unburnt methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases-was needlessly emitted.
While some countries have reduced flaring, the top nine largest-flaring countries continue to account for three-quarters of all flaring, but less than half of global oil production. Satellite data compiled and analyzed in the World Bank's annual Global Gas Flaring Tracker shows that flaring intensity-the amount of gas flared per barrel of oil produced-has remained stubbornly high for the last 15 years.
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Source: worldbank.org
OECD-Environment at a Glance Indicators
June 30, 2025--Human activities, particularly the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), are disrupting the earth-atmosphere system by enhancing the natural greenhouse effect. This leads to rising temperatures and broader climate disruption. Changes in land use and forestry practices also influence the balance of GHGs, as they affect the capacity of carbon sinks to capture or release emissions.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) primarily from fossil fuels combustion and deforestation, is the main contributor to climate change, comprising the largest share of global GHG emissions.
National emissions are increasingly influenced by global demand and supply chains. As carbon-intensive production is relocated abroad, domestic emission reductions may be partially or wholly offset by increases elsewhere. This underscores the need to assess emissions from both production and consumption perspectives.
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Source: oecd.org
Extreme Heat Could Cost Cities in Europe and Central Asia 2.5% of GDP Annually by 2050
June 24, 2025-Cities across Europe and Central Asia (ECA) have experienced a sharp and consistent rise in temperatures in recent decades, which is projected to triple the already tens of thousands of heat-related deaths and decrease annual GDP by an estimated 2.5 percent by 2050, according to a new report by the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery released today.
The report, Unlivable: How Cities in Europe and Central Asia Can Survive and Thrive in a Hotter Future, says the number of hot days in the region's major cities, where over 70% of people live, could more than triple by 2050, with many cities likely to experience more than 40-70 additional hot days per year, especially in Southern Europe and Turkiye.
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Source: worldbank.org
Global Energy Transition Gains Ground, but Security and Capital Challenges Persist
June 18, 2025--The World Economic Forum 2025 Energy Transition Index shows the fastest progress since pre-COVID-19, with 65% of countries improving and 28% advancing across all core dimensions-security, sustainability and equity.
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland top the Index, driven by strong policy commitment, infrastructure and clean energy diversification.
Emerging Europe posted the biggest gains while Emerging Asia outpaced the global average.
Despite $2 trillion in clean energy investment in 2024, energy security stalled and emissions hit record highs, highlighting the need for resilient grids, digital infrastructure and targeted capital flows.
Global progress towards secure, equitable and sustainable energy is accelerating after years of sluggish gains, according to a World Economic Forum report released today. However, rising geopolitical tensions, investment gaps, and a growing disconnect between clean energy innovation and deployment where it is needed most threaten to undermine momentum.
The Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2025 report, developed in collaboration with Accenture, benchmarks the performance of energy systems of 118 countries across three performance dimensions-security, sustainability and equity- and five readiness factors: political commitment, finance and investment, innovation, infrastructure, and education and human capital. In 2025, 65% of countries improved their Energy Transition Index scores, with 28% advancing across all three core dimensions.
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Source: (WEF) World Economic Forum
Pacific Economic Update: Slowing Growth Highlights Need for More Inclusive Workforce
June 17, 2025-Increasing women's workforce participation could boost GDP per capita by over 20 percent across Pacific countries, shows World Bank report
Economic growth is slowing across the Pacific as countries face weak global growth, natural hazards and climate related shocks.
The World Bank's flagship Pacific Economic Update, released today in Honiara, projects regional growth to fall to 2.6 percent in 2025, down from 5.5 percent in 2023.
This comes as post-COVID recovery fades, tourism weakens in some countries, and global policy uncertainty rises. Inflation is easing but remains above pre-pandemic levels-keeping the cost of living stubbornly high.
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Source: worldbank.org
Global Carbon Pricing Mobilizes Over $100 Billion for Public Budgets
June 10, 2025--Over one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions are covered by carbon pricing
Carbon pricing revenues exceeded $100 billion in 2024, according to a new World Bank report released today. Over half of this revenue generated for public budgets was earmarked for environment, infrastructure, and development projects, representing a slight increase from previous years.
The report-State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025-notes that there are now 80 carbon pricing instruments in operation worldwide, a net increase of five over the past year. The report shows that all large middle-income economies have now either implemented or are considering direct carbon pricing, with emissions trading systems (ETSs) accounting for most of the new and planned instruments.
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Source: worldbank.org
Accelerating Blue Finance: Instruments, Case Studies, and Pathways to Scale
June 7, 2025--The ocean drives economic prosperity and environmental stability for billions of people. Yet it is under threat from overfishing, pollution and climate change.
Public financing isn't enough to respond. The answer: unlock private capital to conserve marine life, prevent overfishing, and build coastal infrastructure to resist floods.
Blue finance-or a range of financial instruments-can plug the gap. But accelerating these solutions requires action from governments, private investors and local communities.
Accelerating and scaling the effective use of blue finance requires a shift from fragmented pilot projects to coordinated, system-wide action. Blue finance instruments-such as blue bonds, debt-for-nature swaps, and parametric insurance-have already demonstrated their potential to address fiscal pressures, enhance climate resilience, and support ecosystem restoration across diverse contexts. These successes were not isolated; they were underpinned by conductive policy frameworks, robust data systems, inclusive governance structures, and the strategic alignment of financial instruments with policy objectives.
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Source: worldbank.org
The Longevity Dividend
June 3, 2025--Aging populations should be embraced, not feared
The story of demographic doom has become familiar: Declining birth rates will cause populations to shrink, while longer lifespans will increase the costs of pensions and eldercare. Relatively fewer workers will have to pay for it all.
This story is partly true: One in ten people worldwide are now over 65, and that proportion is projected to double over the next 50 years (see Chart 1). Population decline has already begun in places such as Japan and China. Those countries are also experiencing a sharp increase in median age, as is Europe.
But the pessimism around an aging population is too one-sided. In fact, the combination of older people becoming more numerous and more likely to work makes them essential to economic dynamism.
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Source: IMF.org
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