Speeding Sustainable Development: Integrating Economic, Social, and Environmental Development

A CGD Working Paper on policy coordination to help meet the SDGs.  TLDR: Important, but hard.  

This paper discusses the role for policy integration to speed progress towards delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is required because the goals set very ambitious targets for progress across a range of interlinked areas, encompassing both synergies and tradeoffs. Lessons of policy integration at the national level suggest that it is usually at best partially successful, requiring significant commitment from the highest levels of government. Policy integration regarding foreign affairs has proven even more challenging. This paper suggests a mechanism for prioritizing coordination and the use of coordination tools including regulation, safeguards, taxes, and subsidies. It also suggests re-orienting ministerial responsibilities where possible from input control to achievement of outcomes as well as tools to promote innovation by subnational governments and the private sector.

Meeting the Sustainable Development Goal Zero Targets: What Could We Do?

A working paper for CGD with Mallika Snyder.  The Sustainable Development Goals are an ambitious set of targets for global development progress by 2030 that were agreed by the United Nations in 2015. Amongst the 169 targets are a number that call for universal access, universal coverage, or universal eradication. These include ending extreme poverty and malnutrition alongside preventable under-5 deaths, ending a number of epidemics, providing universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, primary and secondary education, a range of infrastructure services, and legal identification. These have often been labeled “zero targets.” A review of the literature on meeting these zero targets suggests very high costs compared to available resources, but also that in many cases there remains a considerable gap between financing known technical solutions and achieving the outcomes called for in the SDGs. In some cases, we (even) lack the technical solutions required to achieve the zero targets, suggesting the need for research and development of new approaches.

Time to Get Serious About Nuclear Power

The US should be investing more in nuclear power research --for Ozy.

If Everyone Gets Electricity, Can the Planet Survive?

The United Nations has set conflicting goals for 2030: combatting climate change while providing energy to all. It suggests they aren't by low-balling electricity demand. For the Atlantic.

After the U.S.-China Pact, Will the World Pick a Peak Carbon Date?

Maybe there's hope for Paris UNFCCC,  For @BW.

Poor Countries Shouldn’t Sacrifice Growth to Fight Climate Change

People who use less electricity than it takes to run your fridge need more power.  For @BW.

The Economic Case for Taxing Meat

Tasty, but bad for the environment and health.  In @BW.

Congress Wakes Up to the Bad News About Biofuels

A @BW column on ethanol mandates.

New Water Sources Won't Quench the World's Thirst

Yay!  Kenya's found more water.  Boo! the problem is getting it where its needed.

How Cleaning China’s Dirty Air Can Slow Climate Change

Local air pollution is the big killer in China.  In @BW.  Although maybe not as big as I suggest...

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