Weekly roundup: Top international development headlines

EU and African Renewable Energy Initiative, humanitarian assistance to refugees in Turkey and World Bank financing for safe water and sanitation in Bangladesh. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:

EU and partners take work of African Renewable Energy Initiative forward

The African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) and the OECD hosted a two-day meeting in Paris this week, with a focus on how the private sector can help boost renewable energy investments in Africa.

The EU co-funded this meeting, moved by the need to leverage private sector investments in sustainable energy, especially in Africa. This is a key priority for the EU’s climate action and the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs.

AREI was launched at COP21 in Paris in December 2015 and formally endorsed at the African Union Summit in Addis-Ababa in January 2016 as an Africa-owned and Africa-led effort to accelerate and scale up the harnessing of the continent’s huge renewable energy potential. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Africa houses 40% of the world’s solar potential, 32% of its wind potential and 12% of all hydropower potential.

EU mobilises €663 million in humanitarian assistance to refugees in Turkey

The European Commission is mobilising €663 million in humanitarian aid to continue major projects under the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey. €600 million will ensure the continuity of the EU’s largest-ever humanitarian programme – the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN). The remaining funds will continue supporting projects in the areas of education and essential services such as healthcare.

Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said:

“EU support has made a real impact for refugees hosted in Turkey. Thanks to EU support, around 1.7 million refugees can meet their basic needs, and more than half a million refugee children go to school. These results speak for themselves. I would like to thank our humanitarian partners on the ground for making EU assistance in Turkey a success story. The EU is committed to continue delivering on its commitments in line with the EU-Turkey statement.”

$100 million World Bank financing for safe water and sanitation in Bangladesh

The government of Bangladesh signed a $100 million financing agreement with the World Bank to ensure improved water supply, sanitation, and drainage system in selected 30 municipalities, benefiting about 600,000 people.

The Municipal Water Supply and Sanitation Project will provide safe piped water to residents of selected municipalities that currently do not have piped water facilities. The project will facilitate public-private partnerships and help build infrastructures, including water treatment facility, water storage, transmission and distribution pipe network, house connections, including meters, as well as improved sanitation facilities in low-income areas and slums.

“Today, more and more people are living in cities, creating an urgent demand for quality urban infrastructures, including water and sanitation services,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. “This project will help the people living in small towns, including the slum dwellers, get piped water and improved sanitation and drainage services. With greater access to clean water, the women will have more time otherwise spent for collecting water, as well the health of their children will improve resulting in better school attendance.”

Here’s what else has happened

Tanzania: The Tanzania Urban Resilience Program (TURP) has used innovative methods to collect critical data for local action to mitigate this risk.
In 2016, TURP was established to mitigate economic and social vulnerability to climate-related risk through coordinated and strategic action. Led by the Government of Tanzania – with support from the World Bank and funding from the UK Department for International Development – the program is implementing activities in risk identification, risk reduction, and emergency preparedness.

USAID: The first shipment of humanitarian food stocks donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Office of Food for Peace (FFP) has arrived in Port Sudan. The contribution to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) aims to support 2.2 million people across the country. The total US contribution valued at US$102 million will support the growing food needs of internally displaced people, refugees, and vulnerable communities through a variety of WFP assistance programmes.

Italy: The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, attended the Solidarity Conference on the Venezuelan Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Brussels, co-organised by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, the Director-General of the IOM, Antonio Vitorino, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and by the UNHCR/IOM Joint Representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, Eduardo Stein.

Reports

Commission report: more countries than ever hit by forest fires in 2018

The European Commission published the 2018 edition of its Annual Report on Forest Fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. According to the report, wildfires destroyed nearly 178 000 hectares (ha) of forests and land in the EU last year. While this is less than one-sixth of the area burnt in 2017, and less than the long-term average, more countries than ever before suffered from large fires.

Read and download the Annual Report on Forest Fires.

EU greenhouse gas emissions down 23% but further effort needed to reach 2030 target

The European Union (EU) cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2 % in 2018, according to preliminary estimates released by the European Environment Agency.

The EEA analysis shows that the EU is firmly on track to achieve its 2020 target to reduce GHG emissions by 20 %, compared with 1990 levels.

However, Member States’ projections are not yet in line with the target for 2030 of at least a 40 % reduction in GHG emissions. According to the EEA analysis, Member States’ current policies can deliver only a 30 % reduction by 2030, while implementing all reported planned policies could bring the total reduction to 36 %.

Read and download the EEA report: Trends and projections in Europe 2019. 

New IRENA report identifies clean energy options for global shipping industry

Shipping is a major contributor to global carbon emissions. The sector today is responsible for 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 9 percent of transport-related emissions and this figure will rise significantly as trade volumes increase. If no mitigation action is taken, maritime emissions could grow between 50 and 250 percent by 2050, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) says.

With heavy fuel oil covering 82 percent of the sector’s energy needs, decarbonizing global shipping will play a critical role in achieving climate objectives, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) finds. Navigating away to a renewable future explores the impact of maritime shipping on CO2 emissions, the structure of shipping and key areas that need to be addressed to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.

Read and download the report: Navigating the way to a renewable future: Solutions to decarbonise shipping.

Events

IRENA Youth Forum: The New Generation of Decision Makers at the 10th IRENA Assembly

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
10 January 2020

IRENA’s inaugural youth event will be held on the margins of the Agency’s tenth Assembly. Structured under the theme Renewables beyond 2030: The Key Role of Youth in the Global Energy Transformation, the Agency’s first major event for and on youth recognises the vital role that young people play in achieving climate stability and advancing the sustainable development agenda and energy transformation at large.

3rd Asia Finance Forum: The Future of Inclusive Finance

Manila, Philippines
4 – 7 November 2019

There are 1.7 billion people who are outside of the formal banking and financial system, more than half of which are in Asia and the Pacific. They struggle with high fees and risky systems to undertake even simple financial transactions.

In order to improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable, it is crucial to connect marginalized populations with the broader economy. As we have entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the use of digital technology in financial services can offer new ways to bring them out of financial darkness.

Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development – Africa 2020

Nairobi, Kenya
15-17 June 2020

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (Kenya) will host the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) – Africa 2020, organized by IFAD in collaboration with the African Union and the World Bank Group.

The three-day forum will focus on opportunities and challenges in the African remittance market, and the impact these flows can have on the sustainable development of migrants’ communities of origin.