The World Statistics Pocketbook is an annual compilation of key statistical indicators prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The COVID-19 pandemic detonated a "digital big bang" that spurred people, governments, and businesses to become "digital by default;" a sea change that generated vast digital dividends.
Oil and gas supplies will continue to play a key role in a future sustainable energy system to support economic growth and social progress, even under a scenario in which stringent climate policies and measures are implemented.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement entered into force in 2019, and its implementation commenced in 2021. A major milestone in the continent's regional integration, it aims to increase intra-African trade by eliminating import duties. Its planners hoped to double intra-African trade if non-tariff barriers were also reduced. Inadequate transport infrastructure and services could hamper the realization of AfCFTA's benefits. The urgent need to improve transport connectivity in Africa in the context of AfCFTA has created new research demands. This report explores the effects of AfCFTA on trade flows in Africa and asks how the AfCFTA signatories could reap the agreement's full benefits through the integrated planning of trade and transport. Using trade flow and freight mode choice models, the report identifies critical transport links across the continent and provides estimates for the infrastructure required for different modes of transport--road, rail, maritime and air--because of AfCFTA. It also unpacks the transport equipment required for the different modes: trucks for roads, rolling stock for railways, aircraft for air transport and ships for maritime transport. The report shows that trade and transport are mutually reinforcing and that current infrastructure and services, in all modes of transport in Africa, require upgrading to cope with the increased freight under the AfCFTA. This underscores the importance of prioritising the implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), the Trans-African Highway (TAH) network and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
This report provides new insights into the evolution of certified agriculture and forestry. It provides data about 14 major sustainability standards for bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, oil palm, soybeans, sugarcane, tea and forestry products. The 2021 report adds data from 2019, showing that sustainability standards continue to expand their land coverage. This report helps shape decisions of policymakers, producers and businesses, working to address systemic labour and environmental challenges through certified sustainable production.
General Assembly resolution 70/186 mandates the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy to conduct voluntary peer reviews on consumer protection law and policy. The purpose of voluntary peer reviews in this field is to provide an external and independent assessment of the effectiveness of consumer protection law and policy in a given country; to identify the challenges to be addressed and areas to be improved in the legal and institutional frameworks, thereby contributing to enhancing quality, efficiency and consumer protection regimes; to assess the consumer protection awareness of relevant stakeholders and their contributions in this area; to formulate and recommend appropriate measures, designed in consideration of the economic and developmental particularities of each country, to address these challenges; and, where appropriate, to assist countries in implementing the recommendations by developing a capacity-building project in consultation with the country concerned. The present publication serves as basis for the Voluntary Peer Review on Consumer Protection Law and Policy of Thailand.
New data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result. The new report, In Danger, is being launched ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada.
The Innovation for Sustainable Development Review of Uzbekistan contains the outcomes of a policy advisory exercise that drew on the experience accumulated by the UNECE in the identification of good practices and policy lessons in the area of knowledge-based development, with particular reference to the problems of countries with economies in transition. It provides a set of recommendations and policy options to stimulate innovation activity in the country, enhance its innovation capacity and improve the overall efficiency of the national innovation system.
The world's prevalent economic model, based on a 'take-make-use-dispose' approach, cannot maintain and raise human standards of living without causing environmental degradation and incurring economic risks. Decoupling economic activity from the increasing demand for natural resources could be done through circular, bio-based economy approaches leading to a regenerative growth model, allowing humankind to reduce its environmental footprint on the planet. The forest sector, situated in both the biological and technical cycles of a circular economy, is well suited to embrace a circular, bio-based economic model. However, challenges in the overall circularity of forest-based value chains persist as a result of the sector's traditional means of operation. To ensure the sustainability of the forest-based value chains, continuous consideration and coordination of circularity at all stages of the value chains are needed. This study analyses the existing and possible limitations to circular approaches in forest-based industries, namely the woodworking industry, the furniture industry, the paper and pulp industry as well as industry using cellulose-based fibres and cellulose-based plastics. The analysis provides evidence that not all circular approaches are sustainable under all circumstances. In some cases, the focus on circularity may cause environmental externalities, in other cases, it may not guarantee economic viability. While the transition to a circular, bio-based economy can be facilitated by a legislator, the process will need to develop organically, based on the location of industries, proximity to available (waste) resources and consumer preferences.
The report focuses on the contribution that STI practices make towards mitigating some of the most pressing sustainability challenges facing the urban socio-technical systems in a post-COVID-19 world. The report also assesses the urbanization trends and the impact of the pandemic on sustainable urban development. It identifies 12 key urban sustainability challenges: energy, circularity, water, mobility, economic prosperity and financial stability, housing, education, gender empowerment & equality, urban planning, healthcare, safety and security, and protection from natural disasters. For each category, a selection of practical STI solutions and innovative case studies worldwide are presented. Finally, the report calls for action at the national and international level to seize the innovation momentum from the COVID-19 pandemic and to use the transformative power of STI to deliver on the commitment to sustainable urban development. Governments should prioritize the STI solutions that ensure value for money and more efficient spending, focusing on activities that boost urban resilience. International cooperation efforts will be needed to further pool, formalize and transfer the available knowledge on effective STI solutions.
The publication describes concepts of exclusion or inclusion, equalities and well-being, and leaving no one behind, in the context of individual societies. It considers specific policy examples from across the world which have impetus for measurement of these concepts. It also provides different approaches and examples of a range of different measurement frameworks to social exclusion, social inclusion, multiple deprivations or multiple inequalities, and well-being.
The Kenya eTrade Readiness Assessment is the fifth assessment conducted by UNCTAD in a non-LDC country and follows an enhanced methodology. As per this methodology, surveys were disseminated as part of the data collection effort. In Kenya, they targeted respondents in three distinct groups, i.e., public sector, private sector and consumers. Through collaboration with the British Standards Institutions (BSI), an eTrade for All partner, the surveys were enriched to investigate the role of standards in e-commerce development. The assessment adds to the 29 assessments conducted by UNCTAD since 2017. Kenya's eTrade Readiness Assessment was conducted during a period when the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing, and it is reflected in some of the findings of the report. The enduring economic and social impacts of the pandemic make it even more important for policy makers and other stakeholders to join forces to take actions aimed at addressing the e-commerce situations. With the eTrade for all partners, UNCTAD is committed to supporting Kenya in its resolve to harness the potential of e-commerce for development.
The report examines how African countries can work towards diversifying their exports by identifying feasible and innovative mechanisms for investment and trade policies to drive incentives to divert economic activities into transformative sectors. It aims to equip African governments and development partners with knowledge on how to diversify exports and promote structural transformation through the services sector, financial services, and private businesses, underpinned by capable, inclusive, and accountable institutions at the national, regional, and global levels.
The report aims to present a measurement framework for collecting and interpreting information on the adoption of new and emerging technologies by business sector firms in developing countries. Such framework is needed due to the existing data limitations and lack of information on the patterns of adoption and use of frontier technologies in productive sectors in developed and developing countries, which may be very uneven and partial even in the most advanced countries. More information is needed in terms of what sectors are adopting frontier technologies, which parts of different value chains, and what kinds of firms are adopting them and how extensively they are diffused in the economy. Information is also needed about the firms using frontier technologies in terms of such characteristics as their batch size and the standardization of their products. That information is critical to inform STI policies aiming to promote the use, adoption and adaptation of frontier technologies in developing countries.
This compendium contains the main notes and technical materials that have been prepared by UNCTAD on requests 2 from WTO LDCs groups to support the ongoing progress to implement paragraph (b) of annex F of the Hong Kong Ministerial decision Ensure that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from LDCs are transparent and simple and contribute to facilitating market access.
UNCTAD set up the eT Ready Implementation Support Mechanism (ISM) in 2020 with a view to supporting beneficiary countries' implementation of eTrade Readiness Assessments. Through the ISM implementation reviews are regularly conducted, to build in-country capacities for effective implementation, based on the principles of country ownership, inclusivity, and results-based management. The Implementation Review done in 2020 was the first of its kind and allowed to capture the progress made by 13 eT Ready beneficiary countries. It formed the basis of further capacity building, knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement activities that have helped to raise the profile of e-commerce in national and regional development agendas. The 2nd Implementation Review (IR) was done in 2021 with an improved methodology, building on the lessons learned and feedback received by the different stakeholders involved in the first implementation review process. It highlights 140 new achievements from 14 countries that have participated in the 2nd IR, gathered through an in-depth review of the data collected from in-country stakeholders by the eT Ready Focal Points, in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders from line ministries, regulatory agencies and private sector entities. The 2nd IR was completed in early 2022 with the publication of this report.
This report examines the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for stakeholders involved directly or indirectly in the production and trade of biodiversity-based products and services, including those sustainably sourced and traded as BioTrade products and services. It examines opportunities, challenges, but also opportunities implemented by respondents to a survey that was circulated with this purpose, to face the adverse circumstances of the pandemic. The report then concludes with a set of recommendations extrapolated from the analysis of the survey responses.
The present report aims to provide policy makers with background on the emerging trends and considerations as well as policy options, focusing on the key requirements for inclusive and affordable access. Following this introduction, chapter two provides an overview of the international policy frameworks, namely the Guidelines and the Sustainable Development Goals. Chapter three describes the features of the network services of water and sanitation, and energy, and places them in the consumer protection framework of inclusivity, affordability, and rights. Chapter four considers the role to be played by competitive markets and the interplay of competition policy and the regularization of the informal sector. Chapter five contains several policy options in the light of sustainability, including demand and supply-side efficiencies and fiscal options for demand reduction. A brief conclusion follows with a summary of policy considerations.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 presents how far we have come towards reaching the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This seventh edition of the annual report also looks at the trends since 2015 and impact of COVID-19 on the progress. It uses the latest available data and inputs from custodian agencies of the United Nations system other international agencies and is prepared by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
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