Tajikistan's Winter Energy Crisis
Tajikistan's Winter Energy Crisis

Author: Daryl Fields

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2013-07-22

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13: 0821399705

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The purpose of Tajikistan’s Winter Energy Crisis is to assist the Government of Tajikistan (GoT) in exploring ways to overcome electricity shortages due to rising demand for electricity. It focuses on investments and policy reforms in order to strengthen the financial, technical, and institutional capacities in the power sector and to prepare the Government for undertaking a major expansion of power supply capacity until the year 2020. The Study explores a range of supply and demand alternatives (e.g., thermal, run-of-river hydro, other renewables, energy efficiency and demand management) excluding the option of large hydropower plants especially those requiring storage capacities, given the complexity and delays in their establishment. The option of a large hydropower project in Tajikistan, such as Rogun, is being explored by the various studies conducted by the Government and has involved a long process of information sharing on the findings of the studies for consensus building among stakeholders including Tajikistan, riparian Governments and their various Civil Society Organizations. Such a process requires the assurance of international quality standards, and incorporation of the concerns of all stakeholders. Without prompt actions, as recommended by the Study to address the causes of Tajikistan’s electricity crisis in the next 4-5 years, the shortages could increase to about 4,500 GWh by 2016 - translating to over a third of winter electricity demand. Following the recommendations of the current Study, the GoT will be on the road to establishing a long term energy security in Tajikistan.

Shared Prosperity
Shared Prosperity

Author: Maurizio Bussolo

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2014-04-08

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 1464802300

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The World Bank has recently defined two strategic goals: ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Shared prosperity is measured as income growth among the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution in the population. The two goals should be achieved in a way that is sustainable from economic, social, and environmental perspectives. Shared Prosperity: Paving the Way in Europe and Central Asia focuses on the second goal and proposes a framework that integrates both macroeconomic and microeconomic elements. The macro variables, particularly changes in relative prices, affect income growth differentially along the income distribution; at the same time, the microeconomic distribution of assets at the bottom of the distribution determines the capacity of the bottom 40 to take advantage of the macroeconomic environment and contribute to overall growth. Growth and the incidence of growth are thus understood as jointly determined processes. Besides this integration, the main input of the framework is the finding that the trade-off between growth and equity may be an issue only in the short run. Over the long run, redistribution policies that increase the productive capacity of the bottom 40 percent enhance the overall growth potential of the economy. This report considers shared prosperity in Europe and Central Asia and concludes that the performance in sharing prosperity during the period 2000–10 was good, on average, but heterogeneous across countries and that sustainability is unclear. It also describes examples of the application of the framework to selected countries in the region. Finally, the report provides a tool to structure the policy discussion around the goal of shared prosperity and explains that specific policy links associated with the goal can be established only after a thorough analysis of the country-specific context.

Infrastructure for a Seamless Asia
Infrastructure for a Seamless Asia

Author: Asian Development Bank

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13:

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This study examines major challenges and issues associated with developing regional infrastructure through the fostering of regional cooperation in Asia, and provides a framework for pan-Asian infrastructure cooperation. The study's long-term vision is the creation of a seamless Asia (an integrated region connected by world-class, environmentally friendly infrastructure) in terms of both "hard" (physical) and "soft" (facilitating) infrastructure. The soft part supports the development and operation of the hard component. Findings indicate that the benefits of upgrading and extending Asia's infrastructure networks are substantial, and that all countries in the region would benefit. A logistics network is only as good as its weakest link; each country in a regional supply chain gains from infrastructure improvements made in others. Improving connectivity in the region would bring Asia large welfare gains through increased market access, reduced trade costs, and more efficient energy production and use. According to the study, to achieve this Asia needs to invest approximately $8 trillion in overall national infrastructure between 2010 and 2020. In addition, Asia needs to spend approximately $290 billion on specific regional infrastructure projects in transport and energy that are already in the pipeline

Shock Waves
Shock Waves

Author: Stephane Hallegatte

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2015-11-23

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1464806748

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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.