Global Program on Sustainability

How to Measure the Sustainability of Economic Progress

American University’s Stefanie Onder and the World Bank’s Diego Herrera discuss measures of a nation’s economic status that are more effective than GDP. Sir Partha Dasgupta likened this to a soccer team that only measures success as goals for and ignores goals against. Whether economic progress is sustainable can be measured by how real wealth per capita is changing, as this represents changes in the potential for future growth.

Greening the Desert

Uzbekistan has turned to landscape restoration through native trees and shrubs as a solution. This approach, guided by the valuation of the environmental and economic benefit-cost ratio, is supported by the Global Program on Sustainability (GPS) of the World Bank, and is now being implemented through the Central Asia RESILAND Program.

Integrating Natural Capital Accounting for a Sustainable Future

Integrating biodiversity considerations into national planning can yield significant benefits, showcasing the value of natural capital accounting for other nations.

GPS and the World Bank Group at COP16 on Biodiversity

GPS and the World Bank Group are attending the Conference of the Parties (COP16) on Biodiversity in Cali, Colombia to support the unprecedented ambition enshrined in the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). A decades-long leader on the nature agenda, the Bank is mainstreaming nature into development programs, economic policy, and strategic investments across sectors and regions, to serve as a key implementing partner for the KMGBF.

The Changing Wealth of Nations 2024

While many countries across the globe have experienced strong economic growth and improvements in human development outcomes over the last quarter of a century, natural resources continue to be degraded and overexploited, calling the sustainability of that growth into question. Is today’s growth coming at the expense of the wellbeing of the next generation? Revisit the launch of The Changing Wealth of Nations (CWON) report. The World Bank’s CWON program provides the most comprehensive wealth database currently available, which can provide insights on the sustainability of economic progress, complementing GDP.

ACTIVATING ALIGNMENT: Applying the G-20 Principles for Sustainable Finance ...

The first action in the G-20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap proposes six high-level principles for the development and global coordination of approaches to align investments with sustainability goals. “Alignment approaches” are national and international frameworks for the financial sector that aim to monitor global sustainable finance flows and ensure that they are contributing to the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other international sustainable finance objectives.

Circular Economy as an Opportunity for Central Asia

The goals of a circular economy are to reduce waste, conserve resources, and minimize environmental impact by keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible. How can this concept help Central Asia achieve sustainable growth?

GPS Annual Report

This year’s annual report highlights GPS work and success in supporting countries to adequately price natural capital and ecosystem services into decision making.

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