Colombia has set forth a number of important policy strategies to achieve its clean energy ambitions, including the 2018 Green Growth Policy, the 2019 National Circular Economy Strategy and the 2022 Energy Transition Policy. These strategies all note the role sustainable bioenergy and waste-to-energy can play in supporting decarbonisation objectives. This report looks at the enabling conditions to encourage development of these clean energy solutions and mobilise the necessary finance and investment.

To realise Colombia's clean energy ambitions and enable the necessary mobilisation of finance and investment, the government has set forth a number of important policy strategies, including the 2018 Green Growth Policy, the 2019 National Circular Economy Strategy and the forthcoming 2022 Energy Transition Policy. These high-level policies all note the role clean energy solutions like sustainable bioenergy and waste-to-energy can play in supporting decarbonisation objectives. These solutions can also achieve a number of other socioeconomic ambitions, including improved reliability of energy supply, improved access to affordable and reliable energy in areas that are not connected to the national electricity grid, and reduced amounts of waste going to capacity-limited landfills. This report aims to support Colombia's renewable energy ambitions, focusing on current clean energy trends, opportunities for bioenergy and measures that can increase finance and investment in those solutions. Through five case studies from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India and Turkey, the report also considers the enabling environment and lessons learnt from bioenergy developments in different countries.

After a robust recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, Colombia's economic growth is returning to a low potential. Medium-term growth prospects depend on maintaining Colombia's strong macroeconomic framework and enacting reforms to create a business-friendly environment which can attract high levels of investment. Implementing fiscal consolidation and adhering to fiscal rules would prevent rising financing costs and safeguard debt sustainability. Reforms to raise tax revenues and improve spending efficiency are needed to create fiscal space for social and productive investment needs. Enhancing the investment climate requires reducing regulatory uncertainties and tackling corruption. Creating connected transport infrastructure, strengthening subnational government capacities and improving equalisation mechanisms in the fiscal transfer system would foster balanced development across the country. Addressing informality, gender gaps, and improving education quality would boost productivity and reduce social disparities. Investing in climate adaptation, renewable energy, and establishing stable regulatory frameworks are key for a climate-resilient economy and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. SPECIAL FEATURES: RAISING PRODUCTIVITY; REDUCING LABOUR INFORMALITY; REGIONAL CONVERGENCE

This report identifies LAC countries’ main climate change policy priorities, which were discussed through a series of Regional Policy Dialogues and Expert Workshops and complements these with findings of recent analyses by the OECD and other international partners. It explores issues related to their implementation on climate adaptation, mitigation, and cross-cutting policy areas.

Rural regions in Colombia have untapped potential to boost wealth and well-being in the country. Despite remarkable economic growth over the last two decades, Colombia’s development policy needs to increase its focus on rurality, as regional inequalities remain high by OECD standards and structural challenges still prevent greater development in rural places.

This report provides an assessment of how governments can generate inclusive economic growth in the short term, while making progress towards climate goals to secure sustainable long-term growth. It describes the development pathways required to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.

A large financing need challenges climate-adjusted infrastructure in developing Asia, estimated at $26 trillion till 2030. This necessitates crowding-in private sources to meet financing, efficiency, and technology gaps. However, a lack of bankable projects is a major hurdle. This publication suggests one possible innovative financing approach. The Green Finance Catalyzing Facility (GFCF) proposes a blended finance framework for governments and development entities to better leverage development funds for risk mitigation, generate a pipeline of bankable green infrastructure projects, and directly catalyze private finance. The GFCF provides useful inputs for the current debate on mainstreaming green finance into country financial systems.

The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its focus is on helping the poorest people in the poorest countries by using its financial resources, staff, and extensive experience to aid countries in reducing poverty, increasing economic growth, and improving quality of life. In partnership with more than 100 developing countries, the Bank Group is striving to improve health and education, fight corruption, boost agricultural support, build roadsand ports, and protect the environment. Other projects are aimed at rebuilding war-torn countries or regions, providing basic services such as access to clean water, and encouraging investments that create jobs. In addition to this critical groundwork around the world, various parts of the World Bank Group are involved in activities ranging from conducting economic research and analysis to providing financial and advisory services to governments and private enterprises. This completely revised and updated second edition provides an accessible and straightforward overview of the World Bank Group's history, organization, mission, and purpose. Additionally, for those wishing to delve further into subjects of particular interest, the book guides readers to sources containing more detailed information, including annual reports, Web sites, publications, and e-mail addresses for various departments. It also provides information on how to work for or do business with the World Bank. A good introduction for anyone interested in understanding what the World Bank Group does and how it does it, this book shows readers who want to learn more where to begin.

Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be two unprecedented global achievements and two major steps toward sustainable development. But the two objectives cannot be considered in isolation: they need to be jointly tackled through an integrated strategy. This report brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if considered together. It examines the potential impact of climate change and climate policies on poverty reduction. It also provides guidance on how to create a “win-win†? situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building. The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty, but future impacts on poverty are determined by policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most short-term impacts whereas immediate pro-poor, emissions-reduction policies can drastically limit long-term ones.